A parasite is a living thing that lives on or in another living thing and takes food or resources from it, usually harming it. The host is the organism that the parasite lives on.
From Latin 'parasitus', from Greek 'parasitos', meaning 'person who eats at another’s table', from 'para' meaning 'beside' and 'sitos' meaning 'food'. It originally referred to people who lived off others’ generosity.
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