domesticate
/də'mestikeit/
Definition
- Transitive Verb:
- To adapt (an animal) to live in close association with and for the benefit of humans: This involves a multi-generational process where a wild species is selectively bred for traits desirable to humans, such as tameness, utility, or companionship.
- To cultivate (a plant) for human use: This refers to adapting a wild plant species through selective breeding to be grown and harvested for food, materials, or other purposes.
- To make someone accustomed to home life or household affairs: This figurative sense means to accustom a person to the routines and responsibilities of domestic life.
Usage and Examples
- Verb (Adapting Animals):
- Humans first learned to domesticate wolves, which eventually became dogs.
- It took centuries to fully domesticate wild cattle for milk and labor.
- Verb (Cultivating Plants):
- Ancient farmers worked to domesticate wild grains like wheat and barley.
- Botanists are attempting to domesticate this rare fruit tree.
- Verb (Accustoming to Home Life - Figurative):
- After years of traveling, he found it difficult to domesticate himself to a settled routine.
Advanced Usage
- "To domesticate a concept": To adapt a complex or foreign idea to make it familiar and usable in a local context.
- The company worked to domesticate the innovative but unfamiliar technology for the local market.
Variants and Related Words
- Domestication (n): The process of domesticating.
- The domestication of the cat occurred in ancient Egypt.
- Domesticated (adj): (Of an animal or plant) Bred and kept by humans; (of a person) devoted to home life.
- Dogs are domesticated animals.
- He has become quite domesticated since getting married.
- Domestic (adj): Relating to the home, household, or family; or, of an animal, tame and kept by humans.
- She prefers domestic chores to office work.
- The domestic cat is a common pet.
Synonyms
- Tame: To make an animal not wild or dangerous. (Note: "Tame" often refers to an individual animal's behavior, while "domesticate" refers to a species-level, genetic process.)
- Cultivate: To prepare and use land for crops; to grow plants.
- Reclaim: To bring (wasteland) under cultivation.
Phrasal Verbs
(This word is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions.)
Related Idioms
(There are no common idioms directly centered on the verb "domesticate.")
Verb
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make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans
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The horse was domesticated a long time ago
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The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog
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overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable
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He tames lions for the circus
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reclaim falcons
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adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment
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domesticate oats
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tame the soil
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