Link Centre Dictionary

parasitism

pa·ra·si·tism

UK/ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/ uncommon

noun

1.

the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)

Origin

From parasite + -ism. Cognate with French parasitisme and Portuguese and Spanish parasitismo.

Phrases

  • brood parasitism

Related words

Broader terms

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