Parasitises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To take resources from another living being while inflicting harm to that entity's health or vitality
2. To inhabit a host organism and absorb nutrients at the expense of the host's well-being
3. To exploit a living organism by deriving nourishment and inflicting detriment to its health and overall vitality

Etymology: "Parasitises" is the third-person singular form of "parasitise," meaning to live on or feed off a host. The verb is built from "parasite" plus the suffix "-ise." The root of "parasite" is a Greek word, "parasitos," made from "para," meaning "beside," and "sitos," meaning "grain" or "food." Originally a parasitos was a person who ate at someone else's table, a dinner guest who earned his meal through flattery or entertainment. Latin borrowed the word as "parasitus," and it reached English through Middle French. The suffix comes from Greek "-izein," which passed through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French "-iser" before arriving in Middle English as "-isen." Adding it to "parasite" produced a verb for behaving like that guest, which later took on the biological sense of living on a host.

Synonyms: infests, exploits

Antonyms: supports, nourishes