OFFTOPIC: Can Hybrid mean more than two

[alex1]

Hi filmmakers,

I'm doing some writing and I need to use the word hybrid as a mean for more than two, but can it mean more than two?

This is the definition and I'm pretty sure it does, but just want to confirm if anyone here know.

1.
the offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, especially as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics.
2.
a person or group of persons produced by the interaction or crossbreeding of two unlike cultures, traditions, etc.
3.
anything derived from heterogeneous sources, or composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds:
a hybrid of the academic and business worlds.
4.
a word composed of elements originally drawn from different languages, as television, whose components come from Greek and Latin.
5.
something that is powered by more than one source of power:
a wind-solar hybrid to generate electricity.
a car or other vehicle that combines an internal-combustion engine with one or more electric motors powered by a battery:
She says she's proud to be driving a hybrid.
adjective
6.
bred from two distinct breeds, varieties, species, or genera.
7.
composite; formed or composed of heterogeneous elements.
8.
composed of elements originally drawn from different languages, as a word.
9.
powered by more than one source of power:
It is hoped that hybrid buses will reduce urban air pollution.


Thanks for the help.

 

[Greg Smith]

I come from corn country and work for a major agricultural research university.

Around these parts, "hybrid" - literally "high bred" - means combining characteristics from many strains of crops or animals over a number of generations to create a new variety that balances as many desirable traits as possible. Over time, that will almost certainly involve more than two genetic donors.

I don't see any problem using the word to refer to something created out of multiple original sources.

- Greg

 

[DLD]

Heterogeneous also can mean more than two (as mentioned in the definition above).