exaptation
/ˌɛk.səpˈteɪ.ʃən//ˌɛk.sæpˈteɪ.ʃən/
构词拆解
ex-
前缀
词源说明
Blend of ex- + adaptation. Coined 1982 by palaeontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth Vrba to avoid the perceived teleological baggage of the existing term preadaptation.
释义
名词noun
- 1(biology, evolutionary theory) The use of a biological structure or function for a purpose other than that for which it initially evolved.
- 2(linguistics, by extension) The promotion of meaningless or redundant material so that it does new grammatical (morphosyntactic or phonological) or semantic work.