backcrossing

B3A1C3K5C3R1O1S1S1I1N1G2

noun

The crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent.

OriginEnglish crossing ← Middle English bak ← Old English bæc →
RareScrabble 23
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Meanings

nounbackcrossing (countable and uncountable, plural backcrossings)

plural backcrossings · alternative back-crossing

  1. countableuncountablebiologyThe crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent.
verb

alternative back-crossing

  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of backcross

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*baką
  3. Proto-West Germanic*bak
  4. Old Englishbæc
  5. Middle Englishbak
  6. Englishback
  7. Englishcrossing
  8. Englishbackcrossing

From back + crossing.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

backcrossing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcrossing

MLA

“backcrossing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcrossing. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backcrossing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcrossing.

Source: backcrossing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.