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commensal

[ kuh-men-suhl ]

adjective

  1. eating together at the same table.
  2. Ecology. (of an animal, plant, fungus, etc.) living with, on, or in another, without injury to either.
  3. Sociology. (of a person or group) not competing while residing in or occupying the same area as another individual or group having independent or different values or customs.


noun

  1. a companion at table.
  2. Ecology. a commensal organism.

commensal

/ ˌkɒmɛnˈsælɪtɪ; kəˈmɛnsəl /

adjective

  1. (of two different species of plant or animal) living in close association, such that one species benefits without harming the other
  2. rare.
    of or relating to eating together, esp at the same table

    commensal pleasures

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. a commensal plant or animal
  2. rare.
    a companion at table
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • commensality, noun
  • comˈmensally, adverb
  • comˈmensalism, noun
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Other Words From

  • com·mensal·ism noun
  • com·men·sal·i·ty [kom-en-, sal, -i-tee], noun
  • com·mensal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of commensal1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word commēnsālis. See com-, mensal 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of commensal1

C14: from Medieval Latin commensālis, from Latin com- together + mensa table
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Example Sentences

The term described the “ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms” that live in and on our body.

The shells of hermit-crabs serve frequently as the home of other animals which live with them a commensal life.

Pinnixa cylindrica, a related species, lives in the tubes of large annelid worms as a commensal.

Heretofore, as far as I know, it has only been recorded as a tube commensal with a large Amphitrite.

Plants or other materials used in their construction and any commensal arthropods present were saved and later identified.

From them Schaudinn decided that the poisonous action of the mosquito bite is caused by an enzyme from a commensal fungus.

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