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paratenic host

American

[par-uh-ten-ik hohst] / ˌpær əˈtɛn ɪk ˈhoʊst /

noun

a living organism that harbors or spreads an immature parasite but is not needed for the parasite's development.

paratenic host Scientific

/ păr′ə-tĕn′ĭk /

See under host

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

paratenic hosts

plural

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.