preadaptation
[ pree-ad-uh p-tey-shuh n ]
/ ˌpri æd əpˈteɪ ʃən /
noun Biology.
a structure or property that developed in an ancestral stock and was useful in a descendant in a changed environment.
Origin of preadaptation
First recorded in 1885–90;
pre- +
adaptation
Words nearby preadaptation
preachment,
preachy,
preacquisition profit,
preadamite,
preadapt,
preadaptation,
preadmission,
preadolescence,
preadolescent,
preadult,
preagonal
Example sentences from the Web for preadaptation
Nothing is more wonderful in history than the unmistakable signs and proofs of preadaptation.
George Muller of Bristol |Arthur T. Pierson
British Dictionary definitions for preadaptation
preadaptation
/ (ˌpriːædəpˈteɪʃən) /
noun
biology
the possession by a species or other group of characteristics that may favour survival in a changed environment, such as the limblike fins of crossopterygian fishes, which are preadaptation to terrestrial life