Acclimatise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make physiological or psychological adjustments to a different environment or climate; to gradually become familiar with and respond appropriately to new conditions; to alter one's behavior in response to unfamiliar surroundings
2. To undergo changes in the body or mind that enable better survival in a new climate or environment
3. To gradually adjust both physically and mentally in response to changed environmental or climatic conditions

Etymology: The Greek root "klima" meant "slope" or "inclination", and it came to denote a region of the earth defined by the angle at which the sun's rays struck it. That sense of latitude-based zones passed into Latin as "clima" and then into French as "climat", which is why a word about weather began life as a geometry term about the sun's slant. English took "climate" from French, and "acclimate" was formed from it by adding the prefix "a-", which in the source chain comes from Latin "ad-" meaning "to" or "towards", so the sense is roughly "to bring towards a climate." "Acclimatise" is simply "acclimate" with the suffix "-ise", a verb-forming ending borrowed through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French "-iser", added to the existing English verb. It is a straightforward derivation rather than a coinage with a notable author, so the word's interest lies mainly in the path from the ancient Greek angle of the sun to a modern description of the human body and mind adjusting to a new place.

Synonyms: adapt, adjust, acclimate, habituate, accustom

Antonyms: unadapt, disacclimatize, reject, resist, oppose