RobertMaas{at}yahoogroups.com wrote or quoted:
> > From: Tim Tyler 

> > there is a word invented for the purpose of describing the
> > design-like aspects of nature: It's "designoid".
Dawkins invented the
> > word.
> 
> I looked in an online dictionary but couldn't find the word. What part
> of speech is it supposed to be? From the spelling, it appears to be a
> noun, not a verb, so how can it replace "design" as a verb?

It's an adjective - used to describe the *product* of the process -
rather than the process itself.

The associated process is usually evolution via natural selection.

> - An engineer/craftsman designed that aircraft/wristwatch.
> - Natural Selection designoided that birdwing/eye??

If the process is evolution, you could say:

``Natural Selection /evolved/ that birdwing/eye.''

Usage would be to replace:

"Eyes are designed objects" ...with... "Eyes are designoid
objects".

It is intended as an improvement on using terms such as "designed",
"designed-by-nature" or "quasi-designed" for this purpose.
-- 
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