syncretism--Sister Jen

syn·cre·tism (sngkr-tzm, sn-)

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.

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[Greek sunkrtismos, union, from sunkrtizein, to unite (in the manner of the Cretan cities) : sun-, syn- + Krs, Krt-, Cretan.]

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syn·cretic (-krtk), syncre·tistic (-kr-tstk) adj.

syncre·tist n.

 

Sister Jen speaks Teenspeak, a syncretic language derived from English and the linguistic demands of teenage culture.