autoxeny
|au-to-xe-ny|
🇺🇸
/ˌɑːtoʊkˈsiːni/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːtəˈksiːni/
development in the same host
Etymology
'autoxeny' originates from Greek combining forms: 'autós' meaning 'self' and 'xénos' meaning 'foreign' or 'stranger', combined in Neo-Latin/modern scientific coinage to express the idea of 'self-hosting' development.
'autoxeny' was formed in scientific/technical usage (Neo-Latin/Modern English) by combining Greek-derived elements 'auto-' + '-xeny' (compare related terms 'autoxenous' and 'alloxeny') and entered specialized parasitology literature in the 19th–20th century.
Initially coined to describe the notion of 'self' versus 'other' hosts, it came to be used specifically for describing life-cycle development completed in the same host species; its meaning has remained narrowly technical in parasitology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in parasitology and biology, the condition in which a parasite or organism completes its life cycle or develops within the same host species (or in the same host) that produced it; contrasted with alloxeny/heteroxeny.
The researchers reported autoxeny in the parasite species: it can complete its development in the same host species without requiring a different intermediate host.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/29 17:14