mongrelism en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English mongrel Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English mongrelism From mongrel + -ism.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The condition of being a mongrel.
It is, however, quite possible, and perhaps probable, that the brown Polynesians were originally the produce of a mixture of Malays, or some lighter coloured Mongol race with the dark Papuans; but if so, the intermingling took place at such a remote epoch, and has been so assisted by the continued influence of physical conditions and of natural selection, leading to the preservation of a special type suited to those conditions, that it has become a fixed and stable race with no signs of mongrelism, and showing such a decided preponderance of Papuan character, that it can best be classified as a modification of the Papuan type.
1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 455:
- (countable) cross-breeding or hybridization
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mongrelisms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |