inquilinism

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noun

The situation where one animal lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species.

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Meanings

nouninquilinism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe situation where one animal lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species.

    Among such traits, propensity to inquilinism in termites is known to relate positively to colony size.

    2016 January 26, “Allometric Scaling of Patrolling Rate and Nest Volume in Constrictotermes cyphergaster Termites: Hints on the Settlement of Inquilines”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

Origin

From inquiline + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

inquilinism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inquilinism

MLA

“inquilinism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inquilinism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inquilinism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inquilinism.

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