Construct · 2 fields · 2 citations

Where does host collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaningparasitecompare the meanings
How to read this

Every construct on the map is compared with every other by the meaning of its definitions, and the closest one is surfaced here. The nearest construct to host is parasite.

Hold this as a prompt, not a verdict. Two constructs sitting close in meaning is a reason to read them side by side and decide for yourself whether they are one idea under two names. It is not proof that they are. Compare the meanings in the Collider.

host2 CONSTRUCTSHost organismPARASITOLOGY · ORGANISMHost plantJAENIKE · HOST PLANT

Spokes are fields; dashed arcs are shared lineage. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

1990Host plant1997Host organism
2026

Drag to watch the word get claimed. Each field appears at the publication date of the earliest source cited for it. Tap a year to see which.

Parasitology

The organism a parasite lives in

In parasitology a host is the organism that a parasite lives on or in and draws its resources from. Bush, Lafferty, Lotz, and Shostak fixed the working vocabulary in 1997, separating the definitive host, in which the parasite reaches maturity and reproduces sexually, from the intermediate host, which carries a larval or asexual stage in transit. The referent is a living body, and the unit is one organism harbouring another that feeds on it. What marks the meaning is the direction of the relationship: the host is exploited, and the word here says nothing about machines, addresses, or guests.[1]

Unit
One organism harbouring a parasite
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Presence and life-cycle stage of a parasite in a given organism, classed as definitive or intermediate host

Ecology

The plant a herbivore feeds on

In the study of plant-eating insects a host, or host plant, is the plant a herbivore feeds and often develops on, and host specificity describes how narrow that set is. Jaenike reviewed the idea in 1990, treating the host as the resource an insect must locate, accept, and use, and asking why so many species specialise on so few plants. The referent is a plant standing in relation to the animal that eats it, and the unit of interest is the breadth of that range. This overlaps the parasitology meaning in spirit, since both name something that is drawn upon, but here the exploiter is a free-living herbivore and the question is host range, not life-cycle stage.[2]

Unit
A plant species in relation to its herbivore
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
The range of plant species a herbivore accepts, scored as host specificity or host breadth

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how host sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this collision

Nearby collisions

immunity3 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, three constructscontagion5 fields · 6 citationsjingle · one word, five constructsembeddedness4 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Bush, A. O., Lafferty, K. D., Lotz, J. M., & Shostak, A. W. (1997). Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology, 83(4), 575–583. https://doi.org/10.2307/3284227
  2. Jaenike, J. (1990). Host specialization in phytophagous insects. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 21, 243–273. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.21.110190.001331

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct