verb

domesticate

duh-MES-tih-kayt/dəˈmestɪkeɪt/

To adapt something to human care or a local way of life.

People domesticate sheep through managed breeding to produce useful wool.

A compact three-stage comparison shows wild sheep, a human-managed breeding flock, and woolly domestic sheep being shorn for useful fleece.

Etymology

domesticateLatinto tame; to dwell in a house

Literally dwelling in a house became taming or bringing under human care. The selected sense extends that household connection to adapting animals or plants for human use and cultivation.

In context

Gustavus Adolphus College18:19

to domesticate a number of animal species to maintain them in dense herds and flocks and to live amid these in unnatural concentrations

Alfred Crosby - The History of Infectious Disease as a Characteristic of Civilization

More examples

Humans domesticated dogs thousands of years ago.
Domesticating wild plants can make them easier to grow and harvest.
Communities domesticate foreign customs by adapting them to local traditions.

Forms

domesticate · domesticates · domesticated · domesticating

domestication noun — Adaptation to human care or local use.

Similar words

tame: Emphasizes reducing an animal's fear or aggression, not inherited changes.
cultivate: Focuses on growing and tending plants rather than changing them.
adapt: Covers adjustments to any environment or purpose, not necessarily local.