acclimation
UK[ˌæklɪˈmeɪʃən]US[ˌækləˈmeɪʃən]
n
the process of becoming accustomed to a new climate or environment.
n
the physiological or behavioral adjustment of an organism to a change in its environment.
Morpheme Breakdown
ac
climate
ion
ac
to
climate
region, zone, or climate
ion
Etymology
the word 'acclimation' is built upon the latin root 'clima', meaning a region or slope of the earth, which evolved to denote the prevailing weather conditions of a place. the prefix 'ac-', an assimilated form of 'ad-' meaning 'to', was attached to form the verb 'acclimate', signifying the process of moving toward or adapting to a specific climate. the suffix '-ion' was then added to nominalize the action, creating a term for the process itself. thus, the literal journey of 'acclimation' is from the ancient concept of a geographic zone to the modern abstract process of physiological or psychological adjustment to new environmental conditions.
Analysis
Structure: ac + climate + ion
ac: (latin prefix) a variant of 'ad-', meaning 'to' or 'toward'.
climate: (latin root) from 'clima', meaning 'region, zone, or climate'.
ion: (latin suffix) forming nouns indicating an action, process, or state.
Examples
the acclimation of the plants to the greenhouse environment took several weeks.
after a period of acclimation, she felt more comfortable with the high altitude.
the study focused on the thermal acclimation of fish to changing water temperatures.