commensal

views updated May 11 2018

com·men·sal / kəˈmensəl/ • adj. Biol. of, relating to, or exhibiting commensalism.• n. Biol. a commensal organism, such as many bacteria.DERIVATIVES: com·men·sal·i·ty / ˌkämenˈsalitē/ n.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

commensal

views updated May 29 2018

commensal (one) who eats at the same table. XIV. — medL. commensālis, f. COM- + mensa table; see -AL 1.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

commensal

views updated Jun 11 2018

commensal (kŏ-men-săl) n. an organism that lives in close association with another of a different species without either harming or benefiting it. Compare symbiosis.
—commensalism n.

A Dictionary of Nursing

commensal

views updated May 29 2018

commensal See commensalism.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

commensal

views updated May 18 2018

commensal See COMMENSALISM.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

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