adopted
Meaning
legally taken into a family to be raised as one's own child.
chosen or taken as one's own.
officially accepted or approved.
Structure
Usage
they are the proud parents of an adopted daughter.
the committee has not yet adopted the proposed changes.
after moving to france, she felt a deep connection to her adopted country.
Etymology
the word 'adopted' originates from the latin verb 'adoptare', a compound of 'ad-' (to) and 'optare' (to choose, to wish for). this construction literally meant "to choose for oneself." the concept was used in roman law for the formal legal procedure of choosing and receiving a person into one's family as a son and heir. entering english via old french 'adopter', the term retained this core legal meaning of taking a child into one's family by choice. the participial form 'adopted' subsequently broadened to describe anything formally chosen, accepted, or taken on as one's own, such as a method, policy, or homeland.
Analysis
ad- (latin prefix, meaning 'to, toward'); opt (latin root, from 'optare', meaning 'to choose'); -ed (english suffix, forming participial adjectives)