Journalese is the artificial or hyperbolic, and sometimes over-abbreviated, language regarded as characteristic of the popular media.

Joe Grimm, formerly of the Detroit Free Press, likened journalese to a "stage voice": "We write journalese out of habit, sometimes from misguided training, and to sound urgent, authoritative and, well, journalistic. But it doesn't do any of that." An informal, often pejorative term for a style of writing and word choice found in many newspapers and magazines. A hybrid word is a word which etymologically has one part derived from one language and another part derived from a different language.

The most common form of hybrid word in English is one which combines etymologically Latin and Greek parts. Since many prefixes and suffixes in English are of Latin or Greek etymology, it is straightforward to add a prefix or suffix from one language to an English word that comes from a different language, thus creating a hybrid word. Such etymologically disparate mixing is considered by some to be bad form. Others, however, argue that, since both (or all) parts already exist in the English lexicon, such mixing is merely the conflation of two (or more) English morphemes in order to create an English neologism (new word), and so is appropriate.

English examples

Aquaphobia from Latin aqua "water" and Greek (phobia) "fear"; this term is distinguished from the non-hybrid word hydrophobia, which can refer to symptoms of rabies. Automobile a wheeled passenger vehicle, from Greek (autos) "self" and Latin mobilis "moveable" Biathlon from the Latin bis and the Greek (athlon) meaning "contest"; the nonhybrid word is diathlon Bigamy from Latin bis meaning "twice" and Greek (gamos) meaning "wedlock" Bigram from Latin bis meaning "twice" and Greek (gramma); the non-hybrid word is digram Bioluminescence from the Greek (bios) "life" and the Latin lumen "light" Claustrophobia - from the Latin claustrum meaning confined space and Greek meaning fear Democide from the Greek (dmos) "people" and the Latin -cida "killer" Divalent from Greek (duo) meaning "two" and Latin valens meaning "strong"; the non-hybrid word is bivalent Dysfunction from the Greek - (dys-) meaning "bad" and the Latin functio Electrocution a portmanteau of electricity, from the Greek (lektron), "amber", and execution, from the Latin exsequere, "follow out" Eusociality from the Greek (eu) "good" and the Latin socialitas Geostationary From the Greek (g) meaning Earth and the Latin stationarius, from statio, from stare meaning "to stand"

Hexadecimal from Greek (hex), meaning "six", and Latin decimus meaning "tenth"; the non-hybrid word is sedecimal, from Latin sedecimalis Hexavalent from Greek (hex), meaning "six", and Latin valens, meaning "strong" Homosexual from the Greek (homos) meaning "same" and the Latin sexus meaning "gender" (This example is remarked on in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love, with A. E. Housman's character saying "Homosexuality? What barbarity! It's half Greek and half Latin!".) Hyperactive from Greek (hyper) meaning "over" and Latin activus Hypercomplex from Greek (hyper) meaning "over" and Latin complexus meaning "an embrace" Hypercorrection from Greek (hyper) meaning "over" and Latin correctio Hyperextension from Greek (hyper) meaning "over" and Latin extensio meaning "stretching out"; the non-hybrid word is superextension Hypervisor from the Greek (hyper) meaning "over" and the Latin visor meaning "seer"; the non-hybrid word is supervisor Liposuction from the Greek (lipos) meaning "fat" and the Latin suctio meaning "sucking" Macroinstruction from the Greek (makros) meaning "long" and the Latin instructio Mattergy from the Latin materia ("material") and the Greek energeia ("energy"): a "word for interchangeable matter and energy."[1][2][3][4] Mega-annum from the Greek (megas), meaning "large", and the Latin annum, "year" Metadata from the Greek (meta) and the Latin data meaning "given" from dare Microvitum from the Greek (mikros) meaning "small" and the pseudo-Latin vitum Minneapolis from the Dakota minne "water" and the Greek (plis) "city" Monoculture from the Greek (monos) meaning one, single and the Latin cultura Monolingual from the Greek (monos) meaning "only" and the Latin lingua meaning "tongue"; the non-hybrid word is unilingual Multigraph from the Latin multus "many" and the Greek (graph); the nonhybrid word would be polygraph, but that is generally used with a different meaning Neonate from the Greek (neos), "new", and the Latin natus, "birth" Neuroscience from the Greek (neuron), meaning "sinew", and the Latin scientia, from sciens, meaning "having knowledge" Neurotransmitter from the Greek (neuron), meaning "sinew", and the Latin trans, meaning "across" and mittere meaning "to send" Nonagon from the Latin nonus meaning "ninth" and the Greek (gnia) meaning "angle"; the non-hybrid word is enneagon Pandeism from the Greek (pan) meaning "all" and Latin deus meaning "god"; the non-hybrid word is pantheism Periglacial from the Greek (peri) and the Latin glacilis Polyamory from the Greek (polys) meaning "many" and the Latin amor meaning "love"

Polydeism from the Greek (polys) meaning "many" and the Latin deus meaning "god"; compare with the non-hybrid word polytheism Quadraphonic from the Latin quattuor meaning four and the Greek (phnikos), from (phn) meaning sound; the non-hybrid word is tetraphonic Quadriplegia from the Latin quattuor meaning four and the Greek , (plssein) meaning "to strike"; the non-hybrid word is tetraplegia Sociology from the Latin socius, "comrade", and the Greek (logos) meaning "word", "reason", "discourse" Sociopath from the Latin socius from sociare meaning "to associate with", and the Greek (-pathes) meaning "sufferer" from pathos meaning "incident", "suffering", or "experience" Taikonaut From the Chinese word for space "" (taikong) and Greek (nauts) meaning sailor Television from the Greek (tle) meaning "far" and the Latin visio meaning "seeing", from videre meaning "to see" Tonsillectomy from the Latin tonsillae "tonsils" and the Greek (ektemnein), "to cut out" Vexillology from Latin word vexillum, meaning flag, and the Greek suffix -logy, meaning study A false etymology (pseudoetymology, paraetymology or paretymology), sometimes called folk etymology although this is also a technical term in linguistics, is a specious (plausible but false) belief about the origins of specific words, often originating in "common-sense" assumptions. Because of their specious "obviousness", many are widely held. Such etymologies often have the feel of urban legends, and can be much more colorful than the typical etymologies found in dictionaries, often involving stories of unusual practices in particular subcultures (e.g. Oxford students from non-noble families being supposedly forced to write sine nobilitate by their name, soon abbreviated to s.nob., hence the word snob).[1][2] Many recent examples are "backronyms" (acronyms made up to explain a term), as in "snob", and "posh" for "port outward, starboard homeward"; many other sourced examples are listed in the article on backronyms.

Example

"420" did not originate as the Los Angeles police or penal code for marijuana use.[31] Police Code 420 is "juvenile disturbance",[32] and Penal Code 420 defines the prevention, hindrance, or obstruction of legal "entry, settlement, or residence" on "any tract of public land" as a misdemeanor.[33] The use of "420" started in 1971 at San Rafael High School, where it indicated the time 4:20 PM, when a group of students would go to smoke cannabis under the statue of Louis Pasteur.[citation needed] Some LA police codes that do relate to illegal drugs include 10-50 ("under influence of drugs"), 966 ("drug deal"), 11300 ("narcotics"), and 23105 ("driver under narcotics").[34][35] The idiom "rule of thumb" is not, as some have suggested, derived from a medieval constraint on the thickness of an object with which one might beat one's wife. No such law has been uncovered. [36]

The word "isle" is not short for "island", nor is the word "island" an extension of "isle".[37] "Isle" comes ultimately from Latin nsula, meaning "island"; "island" comes ultimately from Old English egland, also meaning "island"; the words are unrelated.[38] The word "handicap" did not originate as a metathetic corruption of "cap in hand" in reference to disabled beggars.[39] The word originally referred to the game hand-i'-cap, in which forfeits were placed in a cap.[40][41] The word nasty, after Thomas Nast and his biting, vitriolic cartoons. The word may be related to the Dutch word nestig, or "dirty".[42] It predates Nast by several centuries, appearing in the most famous sentence of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, that in the state of nature, the life of man is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." That work was published in 1651. Lanzarote. A popular story claims that the conqueror Jean de Bethencourt was so impressed with the peaceful nature of the island's inhabitants that he broke his lance in half. The name supposedly derives from lanza rota (broken lance). This story is unlikely, the island is probably named after the 13th century trader Lancelotto Malocello. "Hiccough", an alternate spelling still encountered for hiccup, originates in an assumption that the second syllable was originally cough. The word is in fact onomatopoeic in origin. "Welsh Rarebit" has been claimed to be the original spelling of the savoury dish 'Welsh rabbit'. Both forms now have currency, though the form with rabbit is in fact the original. Furthermore, the word 'Welsh' in this context was used by the English as a slur, meaning foreign, as with French letter, and does not indicate that the dish originated in Wales.[43] "scissors": the spelling reflects a belief that the word comes from Latin scindere (to tear); in fact the word is derived from Old French cisors (current French ciseaux), which comes from Latin caedere (to cut) "innocent": often wrongly believed to have the original meaning of "not knowing", as if it came from Latin noscere (to know); in fact it comes from nocere (to harm), so the primary sense is "harmless" "marmalade": there is an apocryphal story that Mary, Queen of Scots, ate it when she had a headache, and that the name is derived from her maids' whisper of "Marie est malade" (Mary is ill). In fact it is derived from Portuguese marmelo, meaning quince, and then expanded from quince jam to other fruit preserves. It is found in English-language sources written before Mary was even born. "sirloin": an equally apocryphal story features an English king (usually identified as Charles II) conferring knighthood on a beef roast, saying "Rise, Sir Loin!" Alas, the name merely means the top of the loin (from French sur, on or above). "adamant": often believed to come from Latin adamare, meaning to love to excess. In fact derived from Greek , meaning indomitable. There was a further confusion about whether the substance referred to is diamond or lodestone. "pumpernickel" is said to have been given the name by a French man (sometimes Napoleon) referring to his horse, Nicole"Il toit bon pour Nicole" ("It's good enough for Nicole"), or "C'est un Pomme pour Nicole" ("it's an apple for Nicole"). Some dictionaries claim a derivation from the German vernacular Pumpern (fart) and "Nick" (demon or devil) though others disagree.[44] "Sword" did not come from "God's word" ('sword) as a minced oath (in the same way that 'sblood is "God's blood"). This confusion could come from the fact that God's word

in the bible is said to be "sharper than any two-edged sword", and would hence relate to the Christian origins of many English words. "Woman" did not originate from "woven from man". It came from the old English "wiffmann", meaning "female person." "Wermann", the word for a male, was shortened to "mann" (now it is spelled "man"), and "wiffman" was developed into "woman." "Sincere" does not originate from Latin sine cera, without wax.[45]