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DOMESTICATE

 - 2 dictionary results

do⋅mes⋅ti⋅cate

  [duh-mes-ti-keyt] verb, -cat⋅ed, -cat⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.
2. to tame (an animal), esp. by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.
3. to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.
4. to accustom to household life or affairs.
5. to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.
6. to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like: to domesticate radical ideas.
–verb (used without object)
7. to be domestic.
Use DOMESTICATE in a Sentence
Origin:
1635–45; < ML domesticātus (ptp. of domesticāre), equiv. to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
do⋅mes⋅ti⋅ca⋅ble  [duh-mes-ti-kuh-buhl] , adjective
do⋅mes⋅ti⋅ca⋅tion, noun
do⋅mes⋅ti⋅ca⋅tive, adjective
do⋅mes⋅ti⋅ca⋅tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To DOMESTICATE
do·mes·ti·cate   (də-měs'tĭ-kāt')   
tr.v.   do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing, do·mes·ti·cates

  1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic.

  2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life.

    1. To train or adapt (an animal or plant) to live in a human environment and be of use to humans.

    2. To introduce and accustom (an animal or plant) into another region; naturalize.

  4. To bring down to the level of the ordinary person.

n.   (-kət, -kāt')
A plant or animal that has been adapted to live in a human environment.
do·mes'ti·ca'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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