Etymologically
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adaptation

Etymology and origin of the English word adaptation

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1610
Borrowed from
French adaptation
Ultimate origin
Late Latin (adaptatio)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌæd.æpˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌæd.əpˈteɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French adaptation, from Late Latin adaptātiō,[2][3][4] a noun of action from adaptāre, to adjust,[2] from ad-, to, and aptāre, to fit, from aptus, fitted (see adapt and apt).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of adapting or fitting one thing to another: 1610 in the OED, about 1600 in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The state of being adapted, suitableness, is from 1677,[5] and modifying something to suit new conditions from 1790.[5] In 1859 two important senses appear: an adapted form or version of a work,[5] and, in biology, the change by which an organism becomes fitted to its environment.[5] The adjustment of the eye to light or darkness is from 1881.[5]

Timeline

  • 1610 – the act of adapting.[5]
  • 1677 – the state of being adapted.[5]
  • 1790 – modification for new conditions.[5]
  • 1859 – an adapted version; biological adaptation.[5]
  • 1881 – adaptation of the eye.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or process of adapting, or the state of being adapted.
  2. Something changed to suit a new use, such as a film or play made from a book.
  3. (biology) An inherited change that makes an organism better suited to survive in its environment.
  4. (physiology) The adjustment of a sense organ, such as the eye, to a stimulus.

Word family

  • adaptational
  • adaptationally
  • adaptationist
  • counteradaptation
  • exaptation
  • misadaptation
  • nonadaptation
  • preadaptation
  • adapt
  • adapter
  • adaption
  • apt
  • aptitude

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Adaptation.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/adaptation. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·