annidation

A1N1N1I1D2A1T1I1O1N1

noun

The adaptation of the various genotypes to different ecological niches, such as where a mutant form of a species is maintained in a population because it can flourish in a way that the parent organisms cannot.

“Flax grew more rapidly and matured earlier than linseed and this difference in timing of growth led to annidation.”

OriginLatin ad →
Scrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounannidation (plural annidations)

plural annidations

  1. biologyThe adaptation of the various genotypes to different ecological niches, such as where a mutant form of a species is maintained in a population because it can flourish in a way that the parent organisms cannot.

    Flax grew more rapidly and matured earlier than linseed and this difference in timing of growth led to annidation.

Origin

  1. Latinad“to”
  2. Englishannidation

From Latin ad (“to”) and nidus (“nest”). Coined by German biologist and university teacher Wilhelm Ludwig in 1950 as "a fifth evolutionary factor".

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

notidanian
Cite this entry
APA

annidation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annidation

MLA

“annidation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annidation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “annidation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annidation.

Source: annidation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.