No, it delegates to it. It translates the boundary and reuses the existing implementation.

SenderAdapter owns a legacy collaborator and exposes the caller’s send method. Its translation sets priority to normal explicitly. The old client remains testable independently. An adapter reconciles incompatible existing interfaces; a bridge is designed to let two dimensions vary, while a decorator preserves an interface and adds behavior.

What the function promises: The local legacy client records deliveries. The adapter preserves exceptions from deliver; it does not perform real network delivery.

class LegacyClient:
    def __init__(self):
        self.deliveries = []
    def deliver(self, text, priority):
        self.deliveries.append((text, priority))

class SenderAdapter:
    def __init__(self, legacy):
        self.legacy = legacy
    def send(self, message):
        self.legacy.deliver(message, priority="normal")

legacy = LegacyClient()
SenderAdapter(legacy).send("hello")
assert legacy.deliveries == [("hello", "normal")]

Work and storage: O(1) wrapper work beyond the delegated operation.

When to recognize it: Choose a documented priority and preserve failures. Renaming a method is not enough if success means something different.

Check before applying it: An adapter must preserve behavior and errors, not only rename operations.

Translate that error convention into the interface promised to the caller. Do not silently report success after a failed legacy operation.