the history of Greco-Roman hybridizing

[Charles Doyle]

And numerous "-logy" mongrel words came into English from Latin, already born and barking . . . .

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:21:27 -0500
>From: Matthew Gordon <gordonmj at MISSOURI.EDU>
>Subject: Re: the history of Greco-Roman hybridizing
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>Richard Bailey in _Nineteen-Century English_ cites an 1881 complaint about such violations of the "Law of Etymological Harmony": "...since bi is a Latin prefix and gamy a Greek root, bi-gamy is a mongrel word, or which is the Greek for 'mongrel,' a hybrid. The word should be, strictly, di-gamy." (Abbott & Seeley _English Lessons for English People_).
>
>That gives you an earlier example too in "bigamy" though maybe this shouldn't count since the hybridizing took place in Latin (according to the OED).

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