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old hand
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old hand
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Exaptation: It might be fun to think of other ways to use it.
Linguistically. The former words,
"pre-adaptive" and "pre-adaptation", were exaptated into the more impressive sounding words, "exaptive" and "exaptation".
And while these new words seem clumsy and serve to obscure meaning, it behooves grant-gathering science to sound important when they mumble the holy rites of their particular trade.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Let us all beware of taking a word meant to serve a special need
and turning it into a pretentious buzz-word in places where
"adaptation" would do. My using the book as a door-stop is
a horrid example.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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It seems to me to be a word which could be used quite widely, actually. It describes a process for which no other word exactly suits. "Adaptation" implies "gradual (and perhaps evolutionary) change", while exaptation seems to mean "deliberate (and rapid) change". You haven't adapted your book to make a doorstop. You didn't actually change the book, per se, at all. Only it's location and usage changed. Therefore, you could easily say that it's been exapted. And what the hell's wrong with "orientated" anyway? 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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it behooves grant-gathering science to sound important when they mumble the holy rites of their particular trade.Hoo boy, you tell 'em, milum, my friend. Too true, too often. ============================================================ And what the hell's wrong with "orientated" anyway? What the hell's wrong with it, he asks. I'll tell you what the hell's wrong with it: it ain't no true word, that's what the hell's wrong with it! I can see that I am going to have to take BOTH you Kiwis firmly in hand...and never mind the defection to England--my wings are broad! Grr! 
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old hand
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old hand
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Jackie - do you use "adaption" or "adaptation"? I'm guessing the former.
Having studied biology for three years at Uni - much of which dealt with phyllogeny - this facet of evolution received plenty of air time.
FYI, Sydney Uni has three terms instead of the more common two semesters (well it did in the 70's anyway). If we used "adaption" in essays written in the second and third terms (the first term was a grace period) there was an automatic penalty of 5%. Our UK educated lecturers insisted the word was adaptation.
For this reason alone I use "orientate" - but am happy to change if there is an English English reason to do so.
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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stales, that is some of the most specious reasoning I've seen... today.
here's the way it goes:
adapt >> adapted >> adaptation
orient >> oriented >> orientation
no adaption, no oriention; no adaptated, no orientated. QED2
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old hand
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old hand
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Heard a good example in the context of my job....
Apparently one particular brand of satellite radio equipment is very popular with the locals in outback Africa. Not because the satellite service provides a voice and data link with the outside world, but because a power supply unit purloined from the system can power a whole range of appliances in the head men's houses!
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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no adaption, no oriention; no adaptated, no orientated. QED2
tsuwm, brace yourself--I'm going to kiss you: smm-ack!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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this way lies adaptated
Well, once Jeffy-the-Newfie parks it on your lap at Wordapalooza!, we'll see that the way it lies is flat.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I checked One Look Dictionaries, the Faster Finder, and here's the one and only entry given there (very fast):
SYLLABICATION: ex·ap·ta·tion
PRONUNCIATION: gzp-tshn I have no earthly idea...
NOUN: Biology The utilization of a structure or feature for a function other than that for which it was developed through natural selection.
ETYMOLOGY: ex– + (ad)aptation.
OTHER FORMS: ex·apted —ADJECTIVE
ex·aptive —ADJECTIVE
So, it's strictly biological, huh? But here we've gone and made exaptive linguistic use of it on this thread.
Also, notice in the above definition: no verb is included, at least by Bartleby.
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