adaptation

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ad·ap·ta·tion

(ăd′ăp-tā′shən)

a. The act or process of adapting.

b. The state of being adapted.

a. Something, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.

b. A composition that has been recast into a new form: The play is an adaptation of a short novel.

3. Biology

a. Change or adjustment in structure or habits by which a species becomes better able to function in its environment, occurring through the course of evolution by means of natural selection.

b. A structure or habit that results from this process.

4. Physiology The responsive adjustment of a sense organ, such as the eye, to varying conditions, such as light intensity.

5. Change in behavior of a person or group in response to new or modified surroundings.

ad′ap·ta′tion·al adj.

ad′ap·ta′tion·al·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adaptation

(ˌædəpˈteɪʃən; ˌædæp-)

1. the act or process of adapting or the state of being adapted; adjustment

2. something that is produced by adapting something else

3. something that is changed or modified to suit new conditions or needs

4. (Biology) biology an inherited or acquired modification in organisms that makes them better suited to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

5. (Physiology) physiol the decreased response of a sense organ to a repeated or sustained stimulus

6. (Psychology) psychol (in learning theory) the weakening of a response to a stimulus with repeated presentation of the stimulus without reinforcement; applied mainly to innate responses

7. (Social Welfare) social welfare alteration to a dwelling to make it suitable for a disabled person, as by replacing steps with ramps

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ad•ap•ta•tion

(ˌæd əpˈteɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the act of adapting or the state of being adapted.

2. something produced by adapting: an adaptation of a play for television.

a. any beneficial alteration in an organism resulting from natural selection by which the organism survives and multiplies in its environment.

b. a form or structure modified to fit a changed environment.

c. the ability of a species to survive in a particular ecological niche, esp. because of alterations of form or behavior brought about through natural selection.

4. the decrease in response of sensory receptor organs, as those of vision or touch, to changed, constantly applied environmental conditions.

5. the regulating by the pupil of the quantity of light entering the eye.

6. a slow, usu. unconscious modification of individual or collective behavior in adjusting to cultural surroundings.

[1600–10; < Medieval Latin adaptātiō < Latin adaptā(re) to adapt]

ad`ap•ta′tion•al, adj.

ad`ap•ta′tion•al•ly, adv.

ad·ap·ta·tion

(ăd′ăp-tā′shən)

A change or adjustment in an animal or plant that increases its chance of survival in a specific environment. Adaptation can involve changes in a body part or in behavior: Wings are an adaptation of the forelimbs of a bird for flight.

Did You Know? The gazelle is extremely fast, and the cheetah is even faster. These traits are adaptations—characteristics or behaviors that give an organism an edge in the struggle for survival. Darwinian theory holds that adaptations are the result of a two-stage process: random variation and natural selection. Random variation results from slight genetic differences. For example, one cheetah in a group may be slightly faster than the others and thus have a better chance of catching a gazelle. The faster cheetah therefore has a better chance of being well-fed and living long enough to produce offspring. Since the cheetah's young have the same genes that made this parent fast, they are more likely to be fast than the young of slower cheetahs. The process is repeated in each generation, and thereby great speed becomes an adaptation common to cheetahs. This same process of natural selection also favors the fastest gazelles.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Adaptation

cut the coat according to the cloth To live within one’s means; to adapt one-self to a situation. The implication is that given only enough cloth to make a waistcoat or vest, one cannot make a full-length coat. Thus, someone with limited funds should be prudent about expenses and not attempt to live beyond his means. Though first cited in the 16th century, the expression was already in common use at the time.

I shall cut my coat after the cloth. (John Hey wood, Dialogue Containing Proverbs and Epigrams, 1562)

stretch one’s legs according to the coverlet To live within one’s means; to adjust to a situation, especially a financial one. This uncommon expression alludes to the way in which one must conform to an undersized bed, being sure not to extend himself beyond the bounds of his coverlet, or bedspread. Figuratively, the expression implies that one must be certain not to overextend himself beyond his resources.

trim one’s sails To reshape or alter one’s opinion, position, or policy to fit the situation; to adapt one-self to the circumstances or the times. To trim the sails was originally a nautical expression meaning to adjust the sails of a ship according to the direction of the wind and the course of the vessel in order to gain the greatest possible advantage.

adaptation

An inherited feature that increases an organism’s chances of survival.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	adaptation - a written work (as a novel) that has been recast in a new form; "the play is an adaptation of a short novel" version piece of writing, written material, writing - the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing" modernization - a modernized version (as of a play) versification - a metrical adaptation of something (e.g., of a prose text)
	2.	adaptation - the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions) adaption, adjustment acclimation, acclimatisation, acclimatization - adaptation to a new climate (a new temperature or altitude or environment) dedifferentiation - the loss of specialization in form or function domestication - adaptation to intimate association with human beings biological process, organic process - a process occurring in living organisms specialisation, specialization, differentiation - (biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function; "cell differentiation in the developing embryo"
	3.	adaptation - (physiology) the responsive adjustment of a sense organ (as the eye) to varying conditions (as of light) dark adaptation - the process of adjusting the eyes to low levels of illumination; cones adapt first; rods continue to adapt for up to four hours light adaptation - the process of adjusting the eyes to relatively high levels of illumination; the pupil constricts and the cones system is operative modification, adjustment, alteration - the act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment) physiology - the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms

adaptation

noun

1. acclimatization, naturalization, habituation, familiarization, accustomedness Most creatures are capable of adaptation when necessary.

2. conversion, change, shift, variation, adjustment, transformation, modification, alteration, remodelling, reworking, refitting He won two awards for his screen adaptation of the play.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

adaptation

noun

1. The act of making suitable to an end or the condition of being made suitable to an end:

accommodation, adaption, adjustment, conformation.

2. Biology. Adjustment to a changing environment:

acclimation, acclimatization.

Translations

تَكَيُّف، تَكْيِيف

adaptacepřizpůsobování

bearbejdningtilpasning

Adaptation Adaption Anpassung

προσαρμογή

adaptación

adaptation ajustage transformation

aîlögun

adattamento adeguamento

adaptasjonbearbeidelse

адаптация

prilagoditevpriredba

uyarlamauyum sağlama

改编本适应

adaptation

[ˌædæpˈteɪʃən] N (Bio) → adaptación f; [of text] → versión f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

adaptation

[ˌædæpˈteɪʃ^ən] n

[novel, play] → adaptation f
film adaptation → adaptation pour le cinéma
screen adaptation → adaptation à l'écran
television adaptation → adaptation pour la télévision

(= ability to change) → adaptation f

(= modification, improvement) [machine, equipment, system] → adaptation f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

adaptation

(of person, plant, animal) → Anpassung f (→ to an +acc); (of machine) → Umstellung f (→ to an +acc); (of vehicle, building) → Umbau m; (of text) → Bearbeitung f; the adaptation of space technology to medical ends → die Nutzung der Raumfahrttechnik für medizinische Zwecke

(of book, play etc) → Adaption f, → Bearbeitung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

adaptation

[ˌædæpˈteɪʃ/ən] n → adattamento

adapt

(əˈdӕpt) verb

to change or alter (so as to fit a different situation etc). She always adapted easily to new circumstances; He has adapted the play for television.

ˌadapˈtation (ӕ-) noun

aˈdaptable adjective

willing or able to change to fit in with different circumstances. Children are usually very adaptable.

aˌdaptaˈbility noun

aˈdaptor noun

a device which enables an electrical plug of one type to be used in a socket of another type, or several plugs to be used in the same socket at the same time.

ad·ap·ta·tion

n. adaptación, ajuste.

adaptation

n adaptación f

References in classic literature ?

(3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances.

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Don Quixote laughed at the adaptation of the name, and the curate bestowed vast praise upon the worthy and honourable resolution he had made, and again offered to bear him company all the time that he could spare from his imperative duties.

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So exquisite is the adaptation of Bass to Treble, of Tenor to Contralto, that oftentimes the Loved Ones, though twenty thousand leagues away, recognize at once the responsive note of their destined Lover; and, penetrating the paltry obstacles of distance, Love unites the three.

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One of the most remarkable features in our domesticated races is that we see in them adaptation, not indeed to the animal's or plant's own good, but to man's use or fancy.

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Even to call life "activity," or to define it further as "the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations," as Spencer has it, Nietzsche characterises as a "democratic idiosyncracy." He says to define it in this way, "is to mistake the true nature and function of life, which is Will to Power...Life is ESSENTIALLY appropriation, injury, conquest of the strange and weak, suppression, severity, obtrusion of its own forms, incorporation and at least, putting it mildest, exploitation." Adaptation is merely a secondary activity, a mere re- activity (see Note on Chapter LVII.).

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A want of keeping is observable sometimes in the character of the several pieces of furniture, but generally in their colours or modes of adaptation to use Very often the eye is offended by their inartistic arrangement.

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It was an adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon 'wyrm,' meaning a dragon or snake; or from the Gothic 'waurms,' a serpent; or the Icelandic 'ormur,' or the German

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These portentous infants being alarming creatures to stalk about in any human society, the eighteen denominations incessantly scratched one another's faces and pulled one another's hair by way of agreeing on the steps to be taken for their improvement - which they never did; a surprising circumstance, when the happy adaptation of the means to the end is considered.

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A certain barbaric Power with valuable possessions on the map of the world, had occasion for the services of one or two engineers, quick in invention and determined in execution: practical men, who could make the men and means their ingenuity perceived to be wanted out of the best materials they could find at hand; and who were as bold and fertile in the adaptation of such materials to their purpose, as in the conception of their purpose itself.

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There is in an old house a friendly adaptation to the human character, as there is in an old hat a friendly adaptation to the human head.

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In the 'Nativity Hymn,' 'L'Allegro,' and 'Il Penseroso' note appeals to sight (especially light and color), sound, and general physical sensation, and cases of onomatopoeia or especial adaptation of metrical movement to the sense.

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Nevertheless, the two girls managed to bestow the heterogeneous collection with tasteful adaptation to their needs.