Definition of DOMESTICATE

domesticate

Plural: domesticates

Verb

  • adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment
    • "domesticate oats"
  • overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable
  • make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans
    • "The horse was domesticated a long time ago"
  • To make domestic.
  • To make (more) fit for domestic life.
  • To adapt to live with humans.
  • To adapt to live with humans.
  • To make a legal instrument recognized and enforceable in a jurisdiction foreign to the one in which the instrument was originally issued or created.
  • To amend the elements of a text to fit local culture.

Noun

  • An animal or plant that has been domesticated.

Examples

  • Dogs have clearly domesticated more than cats.
  • The Russians claim to have successfully domesticated foxes.

Origin / Etymology

First attested in 1620; either borrowed from Middle French domestiquer (Modern French domestiquer) or directly from Medieval Latin domesticātus, perfect passive participle of domesticō (“to domesticate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, domestic + -ate.

Antonyms

foreignize

Scrabble Score: 16

domesticate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
domesticate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
domesticate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

domesticate: valid Words With Friends Word