Hybrid word explained

A hybrid word or hybridism is a word that etymologically derives from at least two languages. Such words are a type of macaronic language.

Common hybrids

The most common form of hybrid word in English combines 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.

Hybridisms were formerly often considered to be barbarisms.^[1] ^[2]

English examples

Antacid – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt: ἀντι-#Ancient Greek|ἀντι-]] 'against' and Latin acidus 'acid'; this term dates back to 1732.^[3]
Aquaphobia – from Latin Latin: [[wikt:aqua#Latin|aqua]] 'water' and Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:φοβία#Ancient Greek|φοβία]] 'fear'; this term is distinguished from the non-hybrid word hydrophobia, a historical term for rabies and one of its main symptoms.
Asexual – from Greek prefix Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[alpha privative|a-]] 'without' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:sexus#Latin|sexus]] 'sex'
Automobile – a wheeled passenger vehicle, from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:αὐτός#Ancient Greek|αὐτός]] 'self' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:mobilis#Latin|mobilis]] 'moveable'
Beatnik – a 1950s counterculture movement centered on jazz music, coffeehouses, marijuana, and a literary movement, from English 'beat' and Russian Russian: [[-nik]] 'one who does'. The term was coined in 1958 by San Francisco newspaper columnist Herb Caen.^[4]
Biathlon – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:bis#Latin|bis]] 'twice' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἆθλον#Ancient Greek|ἆθλον]] 'contest'; the non-hybrid word is diathlon
Bigamy – from Latin Latin: bis 'twice' and Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γάμος#Ancient Greek|γάμος]] 'wedlock'; this term dates back to the 13th century.^[5]
Bigram – from Latin Latin: bis 'twice' and Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γράμμα#Ancient Greek|γράμμα]] ; the non-hybrid word is digram
Bioluminescence – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:βίος#Ancient Greek|βίος]] 'life' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:lumen#Latin|lumen]] 'light'
Campanology – from Latin Latin: campana 'bell' and Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: -λογία 'the study of'^[6]
Chiral – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt: χείρ#Ancient Greek|χείρ]] 'hand' and Latin adjectival suffix Latin: [[wikt:-ālis#Latin|-ālis]]. The term was coined in 1894.^[7]
Chloroform – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt: χλωρός#Ancient Greek|χλωρός]] 'pale green' (indicating chlorine here) and Latin Latin: [[wikt:formica#Latin|formica]] 'ant' (indicating formic acid here). The term first appeared in 1830s.
Claustrophobia – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:claustrum#Latin|claustrum]] 'confined space' and Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:φόβος#Ancient Greek|φόβος]] 'fear'. This term was coined in 1879.^[8]
Cryptocurrency – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:κρυπτός|κρυπτός]] 'hidden' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:currens|currens]] 'traversing'
Democide – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:δῆμος#Ancient Greek|δῆμος]] 'people' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:-cida#Latin|-cida]] '-killer'
Divalent – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:δύο#Ancient Greek|δύο]] 'two' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:valens#Latin|valens]] 'strong'; the non-hybrid word is bivalent
Dysfunction – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: δυσ- 'bad' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:functio#Latin|functio]]
Eigenvalue– and English of French origin 'value'.
Electrocution – a portmanteau of electricity, from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἤλεκτρον#Ancient Greek|ἤλεκτρον]], 'amber', and execution, from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:exsequor#Latin|exsequere]], 'follow out'
Eusociality – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:εὖ#Ancient Greek|εὖ]] 'good' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:socialitas#Latin|socialitas]]
Genocide – From the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γένος#Ancient Greek|γένος]] 'race, people' and the Latin Latin: cīdere 'to kill'
Geostationary – From Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γῆ#Ancient Greek|γῆ]] 'Earth' and the Latin Latin: stationarius, from Latin: [[wikt:statio#Latin|statio]], from Latin: [[wikt:sto#Latin|stare]] 'to stand'
Heteronormative – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἕτερος|ἕτερος]] 'different' or 'other' and Latin Latin: [[wiktionary:norma#Latin|nōrma]] (via French French: [[wiktionary:norme#Etymology|norme]]) 'norm'
Heterosexual – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἕτερος|ἕτερος]] 'different' or 'other' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:sexus#Latin|sexus]] 'sex'
Hexadecimal – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἕξ#Ancient Greek|ἕξ]], 'six', and Latin Latin: [[wikt:decimus#Latin|decimus]] 'tenth'; the non-hybrid word is sedecimal, from Latin Latin: [[wikt:sedecimalis#Latin|sedecimalis]]
Hexavalent – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἕξ#Ancient Greek|ἕξ]], 'six', and Latin Latin: [[wikt:valens#Latin|valens]], 'strong'
Homosexual – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ὁμός#Ancient Greek|ὁμός]] 'same' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:sexus#Latin|sexus]] 'sex' (This example is remarked on in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love, with A. E. Housman's character saying "Homosexuals? Who is responsible for this barbarity?... It's half Greek and half Latin!".)
Hyperactive – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ὑπέρ#Ancient Greek|ὑπέρ]] 'over' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:activus#Latin|activus]]
Hypercomplex – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ὑπέρ 'over' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:complexus#Latin|complexus]] 'an embrace'
Hypercorrection – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ὑπέρ 'over' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:correctio#Latin|correctio]]
Hyperextension – from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ὑπέρ 'over' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:extensio#Latin|extensio]] 'stretching out'; the non-hybrid word is superextension
Hypervisor – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ὑπέρ 'over' and the Latin Latin: visor 'seer'. This word is distinguished from the non-hybrid word supervisor, which is software that manages multiple user programs; a hypervisor is software that manages multiple virtual machines
Liposuction – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:λίπος#Ancient Greek|λίπος]] 'fat' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:suctio#Latin|suctio]] 'sucking'
Macroinstruction – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μακρος#Ancient Greek|μακρος]] 'long' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:instructio#Latin|instructio]]
Mattergy – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:materia#Latin|materia]] ('material') and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:ἐνέργεια|ἐνέργεια]] 'energy': a "word for interchangeable matter and energy"^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14] Adjectival form: "matergetic".
Mega-annum – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μέγας#Ancient Greek|μέγας]] 'large', and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:annum|annum]] 'year'
Meritocracy – From the Latin Latin: [[wikt:meritus#Latin|meritus]] 'deserved' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:-κρατία|-κρατία]] 'government'
Metadata – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μετά#Ancient Greek|μετά]] and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:datus#Latin|data]] 'given' from Latin: [[wikt:do#Latin|dare]]
Microinstruction – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μικρός#Ancient Greek|μικρός]] 'small' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:instructio#Latin|instructio]]
Microvitum – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μικρος#Ancient Greek|μικρος]] 'small' and the pseudo-Latin Latin: vitum, from Latin: [[wikt:vita#Latin|vita]] 'life'
Minneapolis – from the Dakota Dakota: [[wikt:mini#Dakota|minne]] 'water' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πόλις#Ancient Greek|πόλις]] 'city'
Monoculture – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:μόνος#Ancient Greek|μόνος]] 'one, single' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:cultura#Latin|cultura]]
Monolingual – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: μόνος 'only' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:lingua#Latin|lingua]] 'tongue'; the non-hybrid word is unilingual
Multigraph – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:multus#Latin|multus]] 'many' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γραφή#Ancient Greek|γραφή]] ; the non-hybrid word would be polygraph, but that is generally used with a different meaning
Neonate – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:νέος#Ancient Greek|νέος]], 'new', and the Latin Latin: natus 'birth'
Neuroscience – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:νεῦρον#Ancient Greek|νεῦρον]] 'sinew', and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:scientia#Latin|scientia]], from Latin: [[wikt:sciens#Latin|sciens]] 'having knowledge'
Neurotransmitter – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:νεῦρον#Ancient Greek|νεῦρον]] 'sinew', and the Latin Latin: trans 'across' and Latin: mittere 'to send'
Nonagon – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:nonus#Latin|nonus]] 'ninth' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:γωνία#Ancient Greek|γωνία]] 'angle'; the non-hybrid word is enneagon
Oleomargarine – from the Latin Latin: oleum 'beef fat' and the Greek 'pearl-like'
Pandeism – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:παν#Ancient Greek|παν]] 'all' and Latin Latin: [[wikt:deus#Latin|deus]] 'god'; compare with the non-hybrid word pantheism
Periglacial – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:περί#Ancient Greek|περί]] and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:glacialis#Latin|glaciālis]]
Petroleum – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πέτρα#Ancient Greek|πέτρα]] 'rock', and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:oleum#Latin|oleum]] 'oil'
Polyamory – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πολύς#Ancient Greek|πολύς]] 'many' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:amor#Latin|amor]] 'love'
Polydeism – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πολύς 'many' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:deus#Latin|deus]] 'god'; compare with the non-hybrid word polytheism
Quadraphonic – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:quattuor#Latin|quattuor]] meaning four and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: φωνικός, from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:φωνή#Ancient Greek|φωνή]] meaning sound; the non-hybrid word is tetraphonic
Quadriplegia – from the Latin Latin: quattuor 'four' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πληγή#Ancient Greek|πληγή]] 'stroke', from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πλήσσω#Ancient Greek|πλήσσειν]] 'to strike'; the non-hybrid word is tetraplegia
Sociology – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:socius#Latin|socius]], 'comrade', and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:λόγος#Ancient Greek|λόγος]] 'word', 'reason', 'discourse'
Sociopath – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:socius#Latin|socius]] from Latin: [[wikt:socio#Latin|sociare]] 'to associate with', and the Greek 'sufferer' from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:πάθος#Ancient Greek|πάθος]], 'incident, suffering, experience'
Television – from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:τῆλε#Ancient Greek|τῆλε]] 'far' and the Latin Latin: [[wikt:visio#Latin|visio]] 'seeing', from Latin: [[wikt:video#Latin|videre]] 'to see'
Tonsillectomy – from the Latin Latin: [[wikt:tonsillae#Latin|tonsillae]] 'tonsils' and the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:εκτέμνω#Ancient Greek|εκτέμνειν]], 'to cut out'
Vexillology – from the Latin word Latin: [[wikt:vexillum#Latin|vexillum]], 'flag', and the Greek suffix Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:-λογία|-λογία]], 'study'

Other languages

Modern Hebrew

Modern Hebrew abounds with non-Semitic derivational affixes, which are applied to words of both Semitic and non-Semitic descent. The following hybrid words consist of a Hebrew-descent word and a non-Semitic descent suffix:^[15]

bitkhon-íst 'one who evaluates everything from the perspective of national security', from bitakhón 'security' + the productive internationalism -ist
khamúda-le 'cutie (feminine singular)', from khamuda 'cute (feminine singular) + -le, endearment diminutive of Yiddish origin
kiso-lógya 'the art of finding a political seat (especially in the Israeli Parliament)', from kisé 'seat' + the productive internationalism -lógya '-logy'
maarav-izátsya 'westernization', from maaráv 'west' + the productive internationalism -izátsya '-ization' (itself via Russian from a hybrid of Greek -ιζ- -iz- and Latin -atio)
miluím-nik 'reservist, reserve soldier', from miluím 'reserve' (literally 'fill-ins') + -nik, a most productive agent suffix of Yiddish and Russian descent

The following Modern Hebrew hybrid words have an international prefix:

anti-hitnatkút 'anti-disengagement'
post-milkhamtí 'post-war'
pro-araví 'pro-Arab'

Some hybrid words consist of both a non-Hebrew word and a non-Hebrew suffix of different origins:

shababnik 'rebel youth of Haredi Judaism', from Arabic shabab (youth) and -nik of Yiddish and Russian descent

Modern Hebrew also has a productive derogatory prefixal shm-, which results in an 'echoic expressive'. For example, um shmum, literally 'United Nations shm-United Nations', was a pejorative description by Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, of the United Nations, called in Modern Hebrew umot meukhadot and abbreviated um . Thus, when a Hebrew speaker would like to express his impatience with or disdain for philosophy, s/he can say filosófya-shmilosófya . Modern Hebrew shm- is traceable back to Yiddish, and is found in English as well as shm-reduplication. This is comparable to the Turkic initial m-segment conveying a sense of 'and so on' as in Turkish dergi mergi okumuyor, literally 'magazine "shmagazine" read:NEGATIVE:PRESENT:3rd.person.singular', i.e. '(He) doesn't read magazine, journals or anything like that'.

Filipino

In Filipino, hybrid words are called siyokoy (literally "merman"). For example, concernado ("concerned"): "concern-" is from English and "-ado" is from Spanish.

Japanese

In Japanese, hybrid words are common in kango (words formed from kanji characters) in which some of the characters may be pronounced using Chinese pronunciations (on'yomi, from Chinese morphemes), and others in the same word are pronounced using Japanese pronunciations (kun'yomi, from Japanese morphemes). These words are known as jūbako (重箱) or yutō (湯桶), which are themselves examples of this kind of compound (they are autological words): the first character of jūbako is read using on'yomi, the second kun'yomi, while it is the other way around with yutō. Other examples include 場所 basho "place" (kun-on), 金色 kin'iro "golden" (on-kun) and 合気道 aikidō "the martial art Aikido" (kun-on-on). Some hybrid words are neither jūbako nor yutō (縦中横 tatechūyoko (kun-on-kun)). Foreign words may also be hybridized with Chinese or Japanese readings in slang words such as 高層ビル kōsōbiru "high-rise building" (on-on-katakana) and 飯テロ meshitero "food terrorism" (kun-katakana).

Notes and References

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. 'barbarism', definition 1a
Book: McArthur, Roshan. R. McArthur & T. McArthur. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 2005. 61. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-280637-6. registration., s.v. 'barbarism'
Web site: Harper . Douglas . antacid . Online Etymology Dictionary . 1 November 2020.
Web site: Harper . Douglas . beatnik . Online Etymology Dictionary . 1 November 2020.
Web site: Harper . Douglas . bigamy. Online Etymology Dictionary . 1 November 2020.
11 July 2022.
Web site: Harper . Douglas . chiral . Online Etymology Dictionary . 1 November 2020.
Web site: Harper . Douglas . claustrophobia. Online Etymology Dictionary . 1 November 2020.
https://web.archive.org/web/20121107142334/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858043-1,00.html "What Can the Mattergy?" (review of John F. Wharton, The Explorations of George Burton), Time magazine, March 19, 1951.
"Einstein could have simplified matters considerably by coining a word such as mattergy, matter and energy merely being different forms of mattergy, mattergy I and mattergy II." J.W.T. Spinks, "Language and Science," American Chemical Society, Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 31, no. 7 (1 July 1954), p. 348.
[Google Scholar]
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=6203.msg362251;boardseen "occupation of mattergy", Naked Science Forum, last entry: 23 December 2006
https://web.archive.org/web/20120328094608/http://jamesmessig.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/speculations-on-harnessing-ambient-real-mattergy-within-intragalactic-and-intergalactic-space-for-ultra-high-relativistic-gamma-factor-manned-space-craft/ Jamesmessig, "Speculations on Harnessing Ambient Real Mattergy within Intragalactic and Intergalactic Space for Ultra-High Relativistic Gamma Factor Manned Space Craft", Jamesmessig's Weblog, 21 November 2008.
http://capehartjd.typepad.com/blog/2009/08/mattergy-and-spime.html "Mattergy and Spime", Jack D Capehart's blog: REASONable Ramblings, 7 August 2009.
Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2009), Hybridity versus Revivability: Multiple Causation, Forms and Patterns. In Journal of Language Contact, Varia 2: 40–67, p. 49.