Editing Syncretism (section)

== Etymology ==
The English word is first attested in the early 17th century.<ref>The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' first attests the word ''syncretism'' in English in 1618.</ref> It is from [[Neo-Latin|Modern Latin]] {{lang|la|syncretismus}}, drawing on the {{lang|grc|συγκρητισμός}} ({{Transliteration|grc|synkretismos}}), supposedly meaning "Cretan federation". However, this is a spurious etymology derived from the naive idea in [[Plutarch]]'s 1st-century AD essay on "Fraternal Love (Peri Philadelphias)" in his collection ''[[Moralia]]''. He cites the example of the [[History of Crete|Cretans]], who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-called ''Syncretism'' [Union of Cretans]." A more likely etymology is from ''sun-'' ("with") plus ''kerannumi'' ("mix") and its related noun, ''krasis'' ("mixture").