Link Centre Dictionary

domesticate

do·mes·ti·cate

UK/dəˈmɛ.stɪ.kət/ US/-stə-/ uncommon

verb

1.

adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment

  • “domesticate oats”
  • “tame the soil”
Synonyms
2.

overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable

  • “He tames lions for the circus”
  • “reclaim falcons”
Synonyms
3.

make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans

  • “The horse was domesticated a long time ago”
  • “The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested in 1620; either borrowed from Middle French domestiquer (Modern French domestiquer) or directly from Medieval Latin domesticātus, perfect passive participle of domesticō (“to domesticate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, domestic + -ate.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.