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commensal: msg#00009culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Add fireworks to your vocabulary by trying out a free trial subscription to Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com! http://merriam-webster.com/premium/ ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for July 10 is: commensal \kuh-MEN-sul\ adjective 1 : of or relating to those who habitually eat together *2 : living in a relationship in which one organism obtains food or other benefits from another without damaging or benefiting it Example sentence: The commensal pearlfish can be found inside the sea cucumber, nibbling on the internal organs of the host (which, fortunately, has a unique capacity to regrow its internal anatomy). Did you know? Commensal types, be they human or beast, often "break bread" together. When they do, they are reflecting the etymology of "commensal," which derives from the Latin prefix "com-," meaning "with, together, jointly" and the Latin adjective "mensalis," meaning "of the table." In its earliest English uses, "commensal" referred to people who ate together, but around 1870, biologists started using it for organisms that have no use for a four-piece table setting. Since then, the scientific sense has almost completely displaced the dining one. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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