| Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca |
a Spanish explorer who, after landing on the cape of Florida in 1528 and being stranded in the Gulf coast region for 8 years, published an account of his survival and interaction with the native peoples under the title "La relación" (1542) (b.1490?--d.1557?). |
| asphalt jungle |
any large city, esp. when considered as the noisy, crowded arena of a struggle for survival. |
| beggar |
one who begs, esp. as a means of survival. [1/4 definitions] |
| biomedicine |
the branch of medicine concerned with human survival and functioning in abnormal environmental conditions. |
| bread |
this food as symbolic of the things necessary for survival. [1/4 definitions] |
| Darwinian theory |
Charles Darwin's theory that plants and animals evolved from early primitive life forms with variation caused by natural selection and survival of the fittest. (See evolution.) |
| ecosystem |
a community of living things that interact with each other for their survival, together with their surrounding environment. |
| environment |
the set of things and conditions that constitute the sphere in which a particular type of organism lives and that have an impact on its physical growth and survival. [1/3 definitions] |
| exist |
to maintain one's being or survival; endure; survive. [1/3 definitions] |
| imitative |
in biology, closely resembling in features important to survival; mimetic. [1/3 definitions] |
| mimesis |
the imitation or mimicry by an organism of environmental features or of other organisms as a means of survival. [1/2 definitions] |
| mimicry |
the imitation by an organism of its environment or of other organisms as a means of survival. [1/2 definitions] |
| parasitism |
the method of existence or survival of a parasite. [1/2 definitions] |
| peregrine falcon |
a very swift falcon whose survival was seriously endangered by the pesticide DDT in the 195s and 1960s. |
| predation |
the method of survival that involves capturing and feeding on prey. [1/2 definitions] |
| self-sufficient |
dependent solely on oneself for the means of support or survival. |
| streetwise |
informed about what goes on and highly adapted for survival in a city, esp. the more sordid sections; street-smart. |
| survivalist |
one who believes that a disaster such as nuclear war or social upheaval is likely to occur and who attempts to ensure his or her survival by building shelter in a remote area, hoarding food and supplies, and the like. |
| triage |
a system of determining priority of medical treatment, on the basis of need, chances of survival, and the like, to victims on a battlefield or in a hospital emergency ward. [1/2 definitions] |
| vigor |
capacity for healthy growth and survival, esp. in a living organism. [1/3 definitions] |