domesticate

[duh-mes-ti-keyt]

verb (used with object)

domesticated, domesticating 

1. to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.

2. to tame (an animal), especially by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

3. to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.

4. to accustom to household life or affairs.

5. to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.

6. to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like.

   to domesticate radical ideas.

verb (used without object)

domesticated, domesticating 

1. to be domestic.

domesticate

/ dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz, dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation

2. to accustom to home life

3. to adapt to an environment

   to domesticate foreign trees

Other Word Forms

• domestication noun
• domesticator noun
• domesticable adjective
• domesticative adjective
• nondomesticated adjective
• nondomesticating adjective
• overdomesticate verb (used with object)
• undomesticable adjective
• undomesticated adjective
• well-domesticated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of domesticate¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin domesticātus (past participle of domesticāre ), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Wild donkeys are descended from domesticated donkeys left behind by California gold miners more than a century ago.

From Los Angeles Times

And no matter how hard wildlife officials try to direct them toward their natural prey, the wolves seem to find the domesticated cattle wandering through open pastures a lot more appealing.

From Los Angeles Times

To start, they’re believed to be the first domesticated food crop, with their earliest cultivation dating back 10,000 years in the Fertile Crescent.

From Salon

Honeybees are essentially domesticated insects, and in fact are far less endangered than many of the species they are now pushing out.

From Salon

"I think that photographs help to capture how cute rats really are and show a different side to them, and that domesticated rats are in fact very different to their wild counterpart," she added.

From BBC

Related Words

• naturalize