preadapt

[pree-uh-dapt]

verb (used without object)

Biology.

1. to undergo pre-adaptation.

Other Word Forms

• preadaptable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of preadapt¹

First recorded in 1840–50; pre- + adapt

Example Sentences

A living being has to know the world external to himself in order to adapt and preadapt himself to it, for it is in this outer world that he finds food, shelter, beings of his own species, and the means of work, and it is on this world of objects that he acts in every possible way by the contractions of his muscles.

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