parasitise

P3A1R1A1S1I1T1I1S1E1

verb

To live on or in a host organism as a parasite.

OriginEnglish parasite ← Middle French parasite ← Latin parasītus →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verbparasitise (third-person singular simple present parasitises, present participle parasitising, simple past and past participle parasitised)

present singular third person parasitises · participle present parasitising · participle past parasitised · past parasitised · alternative parasitize

  1. To live on or in a host organism as a parasite.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pərai
  4. Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ́ (părắ)
  5. Ancient Greekσῖτος (sîtos)
  6. Ancient Greekπαράσιτος (parásitos)
  7. Latinparasītus
  8. Middle Frenchparasite
  9. Englishparasite
  10. Englishparasitise

From parasite + -ise.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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