Is there a hard and fast rule or tradition in English that holds that
one should not combine Greek and Latin roots in a word? I have heard
people insist on this, but can think of words like "immunology," which
apparently do just that.

And what in the process of English word formation determines whether a
Greek-Latin combination like "autograph" survives as opposed to the
far less often seen "idiograph" (or why we say polyamory instead of,
say, multiphilia?)

---

Clarification of Question by lloydetta-ga on 13 Dec 2004 18:47 PST

I should mention as well that I need the answer by 14 Dec 2004 at
10:30 a.m. PST. Thank you!

Fowlers'[1] "The King's English", 1951 edition, describes this as
Formations violating analogy and uses amoral as its example: "A-(not)
is Greek; moral is latin. It is at least desirable that in making new
words the two languages should bnot be mised. "

Owain

[1] There were two Fowlers, H.W. and F.G.

Quadrophonic is another hybrid. A pure Greek version would be
tetraphonic. In Latin it would be quadrosonic.