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domesticate
(redirected from domesticable)

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do·mes·ti·cate  (d-mst-kt)
tr.v. do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing, do·mes·ti·cates
1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic.
2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life.
3.
a. To train or adapt (an animal or plant) to live in a human environment and be of use to humans.
b. To introduce and accustom (an animal or plant) into another region; naturalize.
4. To bring down to the level of the ordinary person.
n. (-kt, -kt)
A plant or animal that has been adapted to live in a human environment.

do·mesti·cation n.

domesticate
Verb
[-cating, -cated]
1. to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation
2. to accustom (someone) to home life
domestication n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.domesticate - adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment; "domesticate oats"; "tame the soil"
plant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion
adapt, accommodate - make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose; "Adapt our native cuisine to the available food resources of the new country"
2.domesticate - overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable; "He tames lions for the circus"; "reclaim falcons"
animal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
break in, break - make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern"
domesticate, tame - make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans; "The horse was domesticated a long time ago"; "The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog"
3.domesticate - make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans; "The horse was domesticated a long time ago"; "The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog"
animal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
adapt, accommodate - make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose; "Adapt our native cuisine to the available food resources of the new country"
domesticise, domesticize, domesticate, tame, reclaim - overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable; "He tames lions for the circus"; "reclaim falcons"

domesticate U.S.sometimes domesticize


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
To exploit large animals for food, energy, or other uses, you need domesticable wild animals, something that did not exist in pre-Columbian America (where the arrival of Homo sapiens 13,000 years ago apparently led to their extinction).
Diamond argues instead that the civilizations that originated in the "fertile crescent" of Southwest Asia, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers join, were simply dealt a winning hand of domesticable crop and animal species that led to food production.
Amazingly, out of all sub-Saharan Africa's rich wildlife, not one species of large mammal has proven domesticable.
 
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