/ kəˈmensl; NAmE / adjective
( biology ) living on another animal or plant and getting food from the situation, but doing no harm :
commensal organisms
► com·men·sal·ism / kəˈmenslɪzəm; NAmE / noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
late 19th cent.: from medieval Latin commensalis , from com- sharing + mensa a table.