Aestivated

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. To enter a state of temporary dormancy as a response to elevated temperatures during the summer months
2. To undergo a phase of inactivity that occurs in hot weather to conserve resources and energy
3. To spend the summer period in a dormant or inactive state to avoid heat stress

Etymology: "Aestivated" is the past tense and past participle of "aestivate," a verb whose root is Latin "aestas," meaning summer. The Latin base lies behind the English verb, and the word follows the familiar pattern of building a verb from a noun: a Latin stem plus the suffix "-ate," which English took over from Latin verbs of action. The biological sense is the one that has made the word stick. Where "hibernate" describes winter dormancy, "aestivate" names the same kind of inactivity during hot, dry periods, when animals such as some snails, fish, lungfish and desert reptiles slow their metabolism to survive drought and heat. The Latin root and the English suffix combine with a clear parallel to "hibernate," which comes from Latin "hibernare," to pass the winter.