co-opt

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
co-opt

▶verb

• 1 appoint to membership of a committee or other body by invitation of the existing members.

• 2 divert to a role different from the usual or original one.

  ■ adopt (an idea or policy) for one's own use.

– derivatives
co-optation noun,
co-option noun,
co-optive adjective.

– origin C17: from L. cooptare, from co- ‘together’ + optare ‘choose’.