Dictionary

co-adaptation en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin co-lbor. English co- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *h₂ptós Proto-Italic *aptos Latin aptus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Proto-Indo-European [Term?]der. Proto-Italic *apjō Latin apiō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus ▲ Latin -ō Latin -tō Latin aptō Latin adaptō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Medieval Latin adaptātiōbor. French adaptationbor. English adaptation English co-adaptation From co- + adaptation.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A mutual adaptation of species, organs or genes.
   • Slow though the process of selection may be, if feeble man can do much by his powers of artificial selection, I can see no limit to the amount of change, to the beauty and infinite complexity of the coadaptations between all organic beings, one with another and with their physical conditions of life, which may be effected in the long course of time by nature's power of selection. 1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Natural Selection”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 109:

Forms