exaptation

noun

Meaning

The use of a biological structure or function for a purpose other than that for which it initially evolved.
(by extension) The promotion of meaningless or redundant material so that it does new grammatical (morphosyntactic or phonological) or semantic work.

Etymology / origin

No prose etymology has been added yet.

No ancestor words have been linked yet.

Related words

preadaptation(English)hyperadaptation(English)counteradaptation(English)adaptation(English)auxesis(English)adaptationism(English)evolutionary trap(English)planation(English)

Descendant words

No descendant words have been linked yet.

Sources

DictionaryAPI.dev English dictionary data

exaptation — meaning and etymology | WikiWord