Meanings
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1
noun
the production of hybrids by crossing different species, varieties, or breeds
Darwin discussed hybridism when comparing the fertility of crosses between species.
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2
noun
the state or character of being made from unlike elements
The building's hybridism combines industrial materials with classical proportions.
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3
noun
the formation of a word from elements belonging to different languages
Some editors objected to the hybridism because it joined a Greek stem to a Latin suffix.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From hybrid + -ism. The biological sense, prominent in nineteenth-century debates about species, denotes crossbreeding or the condition of hybridity; language and the arts extended the term to formations made from unlike sources.