Etymologically
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hybrid

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhaɪ.bɹɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin hybrida, a variant of ibrida, a mongrel,[2][3][4] specifically the offspring of a tame sow and a wild boar,[2][3][5] and also a child of a Roman father and a foreign mother, or of a freeman and a slave.[4][5] The Latin word is of uncertain origin, probably from Greek,[2][3] perhaps related to hubris;[3] MWU calls it probably of non-Indo-European origin.[6] It was sometimes also borrowed from French hybride.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The offspring of two animals of different kinds: 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century it was used only as in the original Latin.[7] Of human beings it is from 1630,[7] and of plants from 1788.[7] It was a rare word before the general sense, anything derived from different sources, emerged about 1850.[3][7][4] The adjective is attested from 1716,[3] and Cockeram's dictionary (1623) had hybridan, whose parents are of different nations.[3] A word formed from elements of different languages is a linguistic sense.[8] A car powered by both an engine and electricity is from 2002.[3][8]

Timeline

  • 1601 – a crossbred animal.[2]
  • 1630 – of humans.[7]
  • 1716 – the adjective.[3]
  • 1788 – of plants.[7]
  • 1850 – anything of mixed origin.[7]
  • 2002 – a hybrid vehicle.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties.
  2. Something of mixed origin or composition.
  3. A vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine and another source, such as a battery.
  4. A word formed from parts of different languages.

Word family

  • hybridism
  • hybridist
  • hybridity
  • dihybrid
  • hybridize
  • hybridoma
  • monohybrid
  • trihybrid

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins