cross-pollinating
|cross-pol-li-nat-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˌkrɔsˈpɑːl.əˌneɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˌkrɒsˈpɒl.ɪ.neɪt/
(cross-pollinate)
mixing pollen
Etymology
'cross-pollinate' is a compound of 'cross' + 'pollinate'. 'Cross' (as a prefix/verb) comes from Old English/Old Norse roots meaning 'cross' or 'across', and 'pollinate' comes from Latin 'pollen' (genitive 'pollinis') meaning 'fine flour' or 'flower dust' (i.e. pollen).
'pollinate' entered English via Medieval/Modern Latin based on Latin 'pollen' + '-ate' and developed into the verb 'pollinate'; combined with 'cross' (meaning across/different) in modern English to form 'cross-pollinate', used first in botanical contexts and later figuratively.
Initially it meant 'to transfer pollen between plants', but over time it also evolved to mean 'to exchange or mix ideas/approaches between different fields or groups'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the act or process of cross-pollinating (often used as a gerund or nominalized -ing form) — either literally (plants) or figuratively (ideas).
Cross-pollinating between departments has led to many successful product ideas.
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Verb 1
to transfer pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of another plant (especially between different varieties or species) so that fertilization and hybridization can occur.
The beekeeper was cross-pollinating the apple orchard to produce a new hybrid variety.
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Verb 2
to mix or transfer ideas, practices, or approaches from one group, field, or context to another, producing new or hybrid results (metaphorical use).
The conference focused on cross-pollinating ideas between technology and education.
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Last updated: 2026/01/10 20:52