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heteroecism

American  
[het-uh-ree-siz-uhm] / ˌhɛt əˈri sɪz əm /

noun

Biology.

  1. the development of different stages of a parasitic species on different host plants.

Other Word Forms

  • heteroecious adjective
  • heteroeciously adverb

Etymology

Origin of heteroecism

1870–75; hetero- + Greek oik(ía) “house” + -ism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is the only case of heteroecism known in the vegetable kingdom outside the Uredineae.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

The eu and opsis forms may exhibit the remarkable phenomenon of heteroecism, i.e. the dependence of the fungus on two distinct host-plants for the completion of the life-history.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.