The word 变态 is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: the character 变 (biàn), which means "to change" or "transform", with the character 态 (tài), which means "state", "form", or "condition". Together, they create a compound whose core meaning is literally "changed state" or "transformed condition". This fundamental idea can then be applied across contexts, from biology (describing an organism's physical metamorphosis) to psychology and colloquial speech (describing a deviation from a normal or expected condition, hence "abnormal" or "perverse"). The formation is essentially a direct semantic fusion, where the meaning of the whole is derived from the combined meanings of its parts.