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syncretic - 3 dictionary results

syn⋅cre⋅tism

  [sing-kri-tiz-uhm, sin-]
Use syncretic in a Sentence
–noun
1. the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.
2. Grammar. the merging, as by historical change in a language, of two or more categories in a specified environment into one, as, in nonstandard English, the use of was with both singular and plural subjects, while in standard English was is used with singular subjects (except for you in the second person singular) and were with plural subjects.
Origin:
1610–20; < NL syncretismus < Gk synkrētismós union of Cretans, i.e., a united front of two opposing parties against a common foe, deriv. of synkrēt(ízein) to syncretize + -ismos -ism

Related forms:
syn⋅cret⋅ic  [sin-kret-ik] , syn⋅cret⋅i⋅cal, syn⋅cre⋅tis⋅tic  [sing-kri-tis-tik, sin-] , adjective
syn⋅cre⋅tist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To syncretic
syn·cre·tism   (sĭng'krĭ-tĭz'əm, sĭn'-)   
n.  
  1. Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.
  2. Linguistics The merging of two or more originally different inflectional forms.

[Greek sunkrētismos, union, from sunkrētizein, to unite (in the manner of the Cretan cities) : sun-, syn- + Krēs, Krēt-, Cretan.]
syn·cret'ic (-krět'ĭk), syn'cre·tis'tic (-krĭ-tĭs'tĭk) adj., syn'cre·tist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Syncretic

Syn*cret"ic\, a. Uniting and blending together different systems, as of philosophy, morals, or religion. --Smart.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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