A symbiotic relationship in which one species derives benefit and the other is unharmed; e.g., Entamoeba coli in the human large intestine. Cf.:metabiosis, mutualism, parasitism. [L. con-, with, together, + mensa, table]
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com·men·sal·ism -sə-.liz-əm n a relation between two kinds of organisms in which one obtains food or other benefits from the other without damaging or benefiting it
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com·men·sal·ism (ko-menґsəl-iz″əm) symbiosis (q.v.) in which one population (or individual) gains from the association and the other is neither harmed nor benefited.Medical dictionary. 2011.