hybridization

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the crossing of genetically different organisms, varieties, or species to produce hybrids

   Hybridization between the two plant varieties produced fertile offspring.

2. 2
   noun

   the formation or combination of unlike elements into a hybrid form

   The design emerged through hybridization of traditional craft and digital fabrication.

3. 3
   noun

   chemistry: the mathematical mixing of atomic orbitals to describe molecular bonding

   Orbital hybridization explains the tetrahedral bonds around the carbon atom.

Formed from hybrid + -ization. Hybrid came through Latin hybrida, originally an offspring of unlike parents. Biology uses hybridization for genetic crossing; chemistry adopted the term for combining orbital models, and general usage extends it to any blending of unlike systems.

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