preadaptation
[ pree-ad-uhp-tey-shuhn ]
/ ˌpri æd əpˈteɪ ʃən /
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noun Biology.
a structure or property that developed in an ancestral stock and was useful in a descendant in a changed environment.
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Origin of preadaptation
First recorded in 1885–90; pre- + adaptation
Words nearby preadaptation
preach to the converted, preachy, preacquisition profit, pre-Adamite, preadapt, preadaptation, preadmission, preadolescence, preadolescent, preadult, preagonal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for preadaptation
Nothing is more wonderful in history than the unmistakable signs and proofs of preadaptation.
George Muller of Bristol|Arthur T. Pierson
British Dictionary definitions for preadaptation
preadaptation
/ (ˌpriːædəpˈteɪʃən) /
noun
biology the possession by a species or other group of characteristics that may favour survival in a changed environment, such as the limblike fins of crossopterygian fishes, which are preadaptation to terrestrial life
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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