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sexual selection

n.
Biology

The process in nature by which individuals with certain traits, especially secondary sex characteristics such as colorful plumage and large antlers, are chosen more often for mating and thus pass those traits on to their offspring.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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