Etymologically
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hybride

Etymology and origin of the French word hybride

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1540, translation of Suetonius
Ultimate origin
Latin (hybrida)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /i.bʁid/[1]

Forms

hybride (plural hybrides)[1] Hibride (1540–1596), ibride (Vaugelas, 1647); hybride from 1776.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin hybrida (“mongrel; of mixed blood”), earlier “ibrida”, said especially of the offspring of a wild boar and a sow and of children of parents of different countries or ranks.[4][5][6][7] The spelling “hybrida” is due to a false connection with Ancient Greek ὕβρις (húbris, “excess, outrage”).[4][5][6] The TLFi compares glosses “iber”, “imbrum” “mule”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised TLFi dates it to 1540, in a translation of Suetonius, for a person of mixed descent (Hibride : cest a scauoir estrange de lignage);[2] it is used of animals in 1558 (Amyraut) and as a noun in 1625.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word was applied to plants from the 18th century (1754, Latin hybrida, 1788).[2][5] In grammar Vaugelas (1647) spoke of mots ibrides, formed from two languages, such as automobile.[4][5][3] From 1832 (Hugo's entassement hybride d'arcades) it described anything made of disparate elements, a sense now common (une solution hybride).[4][5][8]

Biology and farming have hybridation (1826), hybrider (1862) and hybride F1.[5][9] In motoring a voiture hybride combines a combustion engine and an electric motor.[9]

Timeline

  • 1540 – Hibride of a person.[2]
  • 1558 – Of animals.[2]
  • 1596 – Hibride in Hulsius.[4]
  • 1625 – As a noun.[2]
  • 1647 – Mots ibrides in Vaugelas.[4]
  • 1754 – Of plants.[2]
  • 1826 – Hybridation.[5]
  • 1832 – Figurative use in Hugo.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (biology) Hybrid: maïs hybride.[8][1]
  2. (linguistics) Formed from elements of different languages: mot hybride.[8][3]
  3. Mixed, composite: une œuvre hybride, une solution hybride.[8][9]
  4. (motoring) Hybrid: voiture hybride.[9]

Noun

  1. A hybrid: le mulet est un hybride.[8][1]

Word family

  • hybridation
  • hybrider
  • hybridité

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Steinfeld, Nadine; Buchi, Éva, eds. (2005–), TLF-Étym: révision des notices étymologiques du Trésor de la langue française informatisé, Nancy: ATILF
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 521b
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Hybride.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/hybride. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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