Olympic village effect

noun

A selection effect driving evolution of an invasive species at the invasion front, that selects the fastest and furthest invaders to interbreed creating stronger and faster invaders, due to the invasion front preselecting the fastest invaders, concentrating these individuals and therefore selecting those traits that let them invade faster.

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Meanings

nounOlympic village effect (uncountable)
  1. uncountableevolutionary theoryA selection effect driving evolution of an invasive species at the invasion front, that selects the fastest and furthest invaders to interbreed creating stronger and faster invaders, due to the invasion front preselecting the fastest invaders, concentrating these individuals and therefore selecting those traits that let them invade faster.

Origin

From Olympic village + effect. From the breeding population selection effect resulting in a group of superior performant individuals like found at an Olympic village (the sportspeople housing for the Olympics).

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Cite this entry
APA

Olympic village effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Olympic%20village%20effect

MLA

“Olympic village effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Olympic%20village%20effect. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Olympic village effect,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Olympic%20village%20effect.

Source: Olympic village effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.