Standard Lemma guide

sympatry

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The use of the same (or overlapping) geographical areas, by populations of related species, without interbreeding.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the occurrence of organisms in overlapping geographical areas, but without interbreeding

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: allopatry

Broader terms: occurrence

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “with, in company with, together with”) + πᾰτρῐ́ς (pătrĭ́s, “fatherland”).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 共棲 /共栖 (gòngqī) — the use of the same geographical areas without interbreeding
  • French: sympatrie — the use of the same geographical areas without interbreeding