adaptant

Adaptant is a term with limited formal recognition in English and is encountered primarily in bilingual texts or niche discussions around adaptation. In French, adaptant is the present participle of the verb adapter, meaning “adapting,” and can function as an adjective or a noun in certain constructions. English-language sources rarely treat adaptant as standard vocabulary; when it appears, it is usually as a loanword or neologism indicating a participant in an adaptation process.

In practice, adaptant may be used in two broad senses, though its nonstandard status means usage varies by author. It can denote an agent that undergoes adaptation, or, less commonly, an adjective describing something related to the act of adapting. Because the term is not standardized in English, writers often substitute more common terms such as adapter for the agent at fault in the adaptation, or adaptive/adapting to describe the process.

In translation studies or media theory, adaptant may be used to refer to a text, artifact, or actor that is being adapted, contrasted with the adapter, the agent responsible for making the adaptation. However, such usage is not widespread and typically accompanied by explicit definitions within the text.

See also: adapter, adaptation, adapting, adaptive systems, translation studies.