Hybrid word

A hybrid word is a word which etymologically has one part derived from one language and another part derived from a different language.

Common hybrids

The most common form of hybrid word in English is one which combines etymologically Latin and Greek parts. Since many prefixes and suffixes in English are of Latin or Greek etymology, it is straightforward to add a prefix or suffix from one language to an English word that comes from a different language, thus creating a hybrid word.

Such etymologically-disparate mixing is considered by some to be bad form. Others, however, argue that, since both (or all) parts already exist in the English lexicon, such mixing is merely the conflation of two (or more) English morphemes in order to create an English neologism (new word), and so is appropriate.

Examples

*Aquaphobia – from Latin "aqua" "water" and Greek "φοβία" "fear"; this term is distinguished from the non-hybrid word hydrophobia, which can refer to symptoms of rabies.
*Automobile – a wheeled passenger vehicle, from Greek "αυτό~" ("auto") "self~" and Latin "mobilis" "moveable"
*Biathlon – from the Latin "bis" and the Greek ("athlon")
*Bigamy – from the Latin "bis" meaning "twice" and the Greek "γαμος" ("gamos")
*Bioluminescence — from the Greek "βιος" ("bios") "living" and the Latin "lumen" "light"
*Dysfunction — from the Greek δυσ- ("dus-") meaning "bad" and the Latin "functio"
*Electrocution — a portmanteau of "electricity", from the Greek "ἤλεκτρον" ("ēlektron"), "amber", and "execution", from the Latin "exsequere", "follow out"
*Hexadecimal — from the Greek ("hex") meaning "six" and the Latin "decimus" meaning "tenth"
*Homosexual — from the Greek "ὁμός" ("homos") meaning "same" and the Latin "sexus" meaning "gender" (This example is remarked on in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love, with A. E. Housman's character saying "Homosexuality? What barbarity! It's half Greek and half Latin!".)
*Hyperactive — from the Greek "ὑπέρ" ("hyper") meaning "over" and the Latin "activus"
*Hypercomplex – from the Greek ("hyper")
*Hypercorrection — from the Greek ("hyper") meaning "over" and the Latin "correctio"
*Hyperextension — from the Greek ("hyper") meaning "over" and the Latin "extensio" meaning "stretching out"
*Hypervisor — from the Greek ("hyper") meaning "over" and the Latin "visor" meaning "seer"; the non-hybrid word is supervisor
*Liposuction — from the Greek ("lipos") meaning "fat" and the Latin "suctio" meaning "sucking"
*Macroinstruction — from the Greek "μακρος" ("makros") meaning "long" and the Latin "instructio"
*Mega-annum — from the Greek "μέγας" ("megas"), meaning "large", and the Latin "annum", "year"
*Metadata — from the Greek ("meta") and the Latin "data" meaning "given"
*Microvitum — from the Greek "μικρος" ("mikros") meaning "small" and the pseudo-Latin "vitum"
*Monoculture — from the Greek "μόνος" ("monos") and the Latin "cultura"
*Monolingual — from the Greek "μόνος" ("monos") meaning "one" and the Latin "lingua" meaning "tongue"; the non-hybrid word is unilingual
*Mormon — It was alleged by Joseph SmithFact|date=February 2007 that Mormon comes from the English "more" and the Reformed Egyptian "mon" meaning "good".
*Neonate — from the Greek "νέος" ("neos"), "new", and the Latin "natus", "birth"
*Neuroscience — from the Greek "neuron," meaning "sinew," and the Latin "sciens," meaning "having knowledge."
*Neurotransmitter — from the Greek "neuron," meaning "sinew," and the Latin, "trans" meaning "across" and "mittere" meaning "to send."
*Nonagon — from the Latin "nonus" meaning "ninth" and the Greek "γωνον" ("gonon") meaning "angle"; the non-hybrid word is enneagon
*Pandeism — from the Greek "πάν" ("pan") meaning "all" and Latin "deus" meaning "God"; the non-hybrid word is pantheism
*Periglacial — from the Greek ("peri") and the Latin "glacialis"
*Polyamory — from the Greek "πολύς" ("polys") meaning "many" and the Latin "amor" meaning "love"
*Polydeism — from the Greek "πολύς" ("polys") meaning "many" and the Latin "deus" meaning "God"; the non-hybrid word is polytheism
*Quadraphonic — from the Latin "quattuor" meaning four and the Greek ("-phonikos"); the non-hybrid word is tetraphonic
*Quadriplegia — from the Latin "quattuor" meaning four and the Greek ("-plegia"); the non-hybrid word is tetraplegia
*Sociology — from the Latin "socius", "comrade", and the Greek "λόγος" ("logos") meaning "word", "reason", "discourse"
*Sociopath — from the Latin "socius" from "sociare" meaning "to associate with," and the Greek ("-pathes") meaning "sufferer" from "pathos" meaning "incident", "suffering," or "experience."
*Television — from the Greek "τῆλε" ("tēle") meaning "far" and the Latin "visio" from "videre" meaning "to see"
*Tonsillectomy — from the Latin "tonsillae" "to branch" and the Greek ("ektomia" (lat)-ectomia "to cut" as in remove)

See also

* International Scientific Vocabulary
* Greek and Latin roots in English
* Classical compound
* Interlingua
* In Sino-Japanese vocabulary, hybrid words are called jūbako (重箱) or yutō (湯桶); see: Kanji#Other readings