Definition of: commensal

(kə·men′səl) adjective
1. Eating at the same table.
2. Biol. Associated or living with another in close but non–parasitic relationship, as a sea anemone attached to the shell of a hermit crab.
—noun
1. A table companion.
2. A commensal organism. [<Med. L commensalis <com- together + mensa table]
—com·men′sal·ism noun
—com·men·sal·i·ty (kom′·en·sal′ə·tē) noun
—com·men′sal·ly adverb