# domesticate

> English word · Verb · IPA /dəˈmɛ.stɪ.keɪt/ · frequency rank #85,189

## Definitions
1. To make domestic.
2. To make (more) fit for domestic life.
3. To adapt to live with humans.
4. To adapt to live with humans.
5. To make a legal instrument recognized and enforceable in a jurisdiction foreign to the one in which the instrument was originally issued or created.
6. To amend the elements of a text to fit local culture.

## Etymology
First attested in 1620; either borrowed from Middle French domestiquer (Modern French domestiquer) or directly from Medieval Latin domesticātus, perfect passive participle of domesticō (“to domesticate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, domestic + -ate.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/domesticate