A person who has been adopted; a child or individual legally taken into a family.
From 'adopt' + '-ee' suffix meaning 'one who receives an action.' This suffix creates a noun for the recipient of the action (like employee, trainee).
The word 'adoptee' became standard in the 1970s when adoption professionals realized they needed a respectful term—before that, children were often referred to as 'adopted children' which emphasized difference rather than family belonging!
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