sympatry

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noun

The use of the same (or overlapping) geographical areas, by populations of related species, without interbreeding.

Opposite
allopatry
OriginAncient Greek σύν →
First used 1903Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounsympatry (plural sympatries)

plural sympatries

  1. biologyThe use of the same (or overlapping) geographical areas, by populations of related species, without interbreeding.First known use 1903

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
allopatry

nounthe occurrence of organisms in overlapping geographical areas, but without interbreeding

Opposite
allopatry
Broader
occurrence

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσύν“with, in company with, together with”
  2. Englishsympatry

From Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “with, in company with, together with”) + πᾰτρῐ́ς (pătrĭ́s, “fatherland”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 共棲 /共栖
  • 共棲 /共栖 (gòngqī)the use of the same geographical areas without interbreeding
French sympatrie
  • sympatriethe use of the same geographical areas without interbreeding
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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