A-dŏp'tion, n.

n. [Fr. adoption, Lat. adoptio.]

1. The act of adopting, or the state of being adopted; the taking and treating of a stranger as one's own child. “Adoption strives with nature.” Shak.
2. Admission to a more intimate relation; reception; as, the adoption of persons into hospitals or monasteries, or of one society into another.
3. The receiving as one's own what is new or not natural. “The adoption of opinions.” Bp. Taylor.