commensally

8.9

In a way where one living thing benefits and the other is not affected

adverb
/kəˈmɛn.sə.li/

Specialized

: de manera comensal

Barnacles often live commensally on whales, gaining transportation but not harming the host.

Examples

Some bacteria dwell commensally in the human gut without causing harm.
The bird feeds commensally alongside the grazing cattle.
The two species interacted commensally, with one receiving shelter and the other unaffected.
Do you know how the plants grow commensally with fungi?
Barnacles often live commensally on whales, gaining transportation but not harming the host.
Some bacteria dwell commensally in the human gut without causing harm.
The bird feeds commensally alongside the grazing cattle.

How Beneficial

beneficially

1 4.1

mutually

80 3.3

commensally

Specialized

8.9

neutrally

3 3.6

parasitically

Specialized

1 8.2

Surface Forms

commensally positive

Morphology

commensally = commensal (semi-transparent) = commensal + ly

Formed by the regular adverbial suffix '-ly' on 'commensal', but 'commensal' is a low-frequency, technical biological term not known to many learners.

Etymology

Commensally comes from the Latin parts com- 'with' and mensa 'table', so it originally meant 'sharing a table' or eating together. That's why in biology commensally describes a living thing that lives with another and benefits, for example by getting food or shelter, while the other is not harmed.