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hostless

hostless

7.9
Not living in or on another living thing
  • adjective
  • /ˈhoʊstləs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sin huésped
  • A hostless organism can reproduce independently, making it unique in the biological world.

Examples

  • During the experiment, scientists observed how the hostless bacteria thrived in the uncontrolled environment.

  • The hostless virus spread quickly because it did not need a host to survive.

  • The bacteria became hostless after the animal died.

  • Some viruses cannot survive in a hostless environment for long.

  • Scientists studied the hostless stage of the parasite's life cycle.

  • This software is hostless.

  • The hostless software can run independently.

How Hosted

anchorless
  • Literature
6.7
hostless
  • Specialized
7.9

Surface Forms

hostless positive

Morphology

hostless = host (transparent) = host + less

Formed from the noun 'host' plus the productive suffix '-less' meaning 'without', so the meaning 'without a host' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Hostless is made from host and -less, where host once meant someone who takes in a guest and you can see the same root in hotel and hospital. So hostless means 'without a host', which fits bacteria or parasites that have no living body to live in.