1. (specialist) the mixing of different religions, philosophies or ideas
2. (linguistics) the mixing of different forms of the same word during the development of a language
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from modern Latin syncretismus, from Greek sunkrÄ“tismos, from sunkrÄ“tizein ‘unite against a third party’, from sun- ‘together’ + krÄ“s ‘Cretan’ (originally with reference to ancient Cretan communities).

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲