preadaptation: Meaning and Definition of

pre•ad•ap•ta•tion

Pronunciation: (prē"ad-up-tā'shun), [key]
— n. Biol.
  1. a structure or property that developed in an ancestral stock and was useful in a descendant in a changed environment.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.