heteroecious

adjective

het·​er·​oe·​cious ˌhe-tə-ˈrē-shəs 

: passing through the different stages in the life cycle on alternate and often unrelated hosts

heteroecious aphids

heteroecism

ˌhe-tə-ˈrē-ˌsi-zəm 

noun

Word History

Etymology

heter- + -oecious (as in dioecious, monoecious), after German heteröcisch

Note: The German term, meaning etymologically "having a different abode" (Greek héteros "of another kind, different," oîkos "house, home" or oikía "dwelling, house"), was introduced by the botanist Heinrich Anton de Bary (1831-88) in presentations made on his behalf to the Prussian Academy of Sciences ("Untersuchungen über die Uredineen, insbesondere die Entwicklung der Puccinia graminis und den Zusammenhang derselben mit Aecidium Berberidis," "12. Januar, Gesamtsitzung der Akademie") in Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, aus dem Jahre 1865, p. 32. Compare autoecious.

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heteroecious

• precious
• semiprecious

Medical Definition

heteroecious

adjective

het·​er·​oe·​cious ˌhet-ə-ˈrē-shəs 

: passing through the different stages in the life cycle on alternate and often unrelated hosts

heteroecious insects

heteroecism

-ˈrē-ˌsiz-əm 

noun