polymath
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυμαθής (polumathḗs, “having learnt much”), first attested in 1624. From πολύς (polús, “much”) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “to learn”). Compare opsimath, philomath, polyhistor, polymathic, polymathist, and polymathy. By surface analysis, poly- + math.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpɒlɪmæθ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɑliˌmæθ/, /ˈpɑlɪmæθ/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
[edit]polymath (plural polymaths)
- A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
- Synonyms: polyhistor, Renaissance man
- Coordinate terms: automath, monomath, opsimath
- 1624, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (2nd edn.), p.6:
- To be thought and held Polumathes and Polihistors.
- 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques”, in RAIL, number 947, page 56:
- A bit of a polymath, he was crucial in the early development of the railways in this country.
Coordinate terms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge
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References
[edit]- “polymath, n. (a.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd ed., 1989]
- “polymath, n. and adj.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [3rd ed., September 2006]
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pleh₁-
- English terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- English learned borrowings from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms prefixed with poly-
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:People