Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A person of great or varied learning.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A person of various learning. Also polymathist.
Wiktionary
- n. A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a person of great and varied learning
Etymologies
- First attested in 1624; from the Ancient Greek πολυμαθής (polumathēs, "having learnt much"), from πολύς (polus, "much") + μάθη (mathē, “learning”; from μανθάνω, manthanō “I learn”); compare opsimath, philomath, polyhistor, polymathic, polymathist, and polymathy, as well as the French polymathe. (Wiktionary)
- Greek polumathēs : polu-, poly- + manthanein, math-, to learn; see mendh- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The word "polymath" was invented for a man like Nathan Myhrvold, who earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics by age 23, studied with Stephen Hawking, made millions as Microsoft's chief technology officer, and has lectured on topics as diverse as barbecuing and paleontology.”
“Ireland used to call a "polymath," for he professed at one time or another, in various universities, logic, metaphysics, Greek, and finally natural history.”
“One of Fred Pawlicki's friends called him a "polymath," which is just a fancy way of saying he's a pretty smart guy who's done a lot of different things.”
“I would like to contribute a few more based on my book experience over the last year about what a next generation, "polymath" analyst firm should aim for”
“Actually I think you will find that the word you are looking for is 'polymath'.”
“The word "polymath" teeters somewhere between Leonardo da Vinci and Stephen Fry.”
“I thank them because if I was not the real homeowner they just stopped someone robbing my house. polymath”
“From my friend Henry Gee (whose highly recommended blog is The End of the Pier Show, the show in question being Henry's many lives as science editor, fiction and non-fiction book author, palaenotologist, SF supremo, polymath, father and Person Who Lives in Norfolk These Days): Ansible 240 (July 2007)”
“The same day's paper features a story "Is this a work of art or just any old iron?" about how the writer, broadcaster, doctor and polymath Sir Jonathan Miller asked a passing scrap metal merchant to remove a rusting bath from his front garden -- only to find his three metal sculptures had also been over-enthusiastically taken.”
“Henry is a polymath: an erudite palaeontologist as well as author, editor and science-fiction buff.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘polymath’.
-
Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
-
phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pabouche, pabulous, pabulum, pacable, pace, pachydermia, pachyglossal, pachymeter, pachynsis, paciferous, pacificate, pactolian and 1766 more...
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
sentient
think words
wise, witty, smart, brilliant, sentient, extrapolate, imagination, intelligence, polymath, contemplate, calculate, create and 2 more...
-
Bright Folk
Some words I come across in my legal studies, though not really legal jargon. And the usage doesn't shout, "hey, I think I'm smart", just simply, "this is what applies in this context."
verbose, inter alia, ostentatious, usurp, presumptuous, anachronistic, unfettered, sine qua non, amenable, subversive, irreducible, penumbra and 28 more...
-
Favorite Words
pablum, maundy, histrionic, adamant, ascribe, verbiage, insouciant, erudite, gregarious, superfluous, banal, obdurate and 280 more...
-
catinthehat345's List
compere, reticle, colophon, miasma, eldritch, raconteur, plectrum, poltroon, vestibular, pastiche, cravat, acumen and 179 more...
-
MiaLuthien's list ♥
gambit, prehensile, coquetry, impunity, genuflect, ensconce, clavicle, delude, beget, castigate, life caching, convoluted and 478 more...
-
Dictionary.com Words of the Days of 1999
1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
emolument, palindrome, deprecate, bivouac, umbrage, incipient, dapple, pugnacious, capitulate, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious and 229 more...
-
Need to Know!
elicit, educe, refute, cogency, churlish, martinet, veritable, polyglot, dissemble, histrionics, prevarication, verbiage and 166 more...
-
Logodaedalus' Lexical Locutionary
Discombobulating the illiterate since the middle of the last century.
adiaphora, agitprop, alliteration, apophthegm, autarky, bête noire, bezoar, biorhythm, braggadocio, canaille, confabulate, confrère and 332 more...
-
bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1402 more...
-
newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
-
Necessary?
"Words are very..."
The above was the original description for this list. Unfortunately, it doesn't convey much about the list contents.
I'm leaving you to draw your own conclusions abo...supererogation, fruitcake, unbeknownst, melifluous, bane, cavy, unnecessary, lyrical, question, undertow, weapon, arduous and 200 more...
-
annscann's list
My words, generally
bavarois, bawbee, bawd, bawdry, libertine, russophobe, rubicund, gossamer, persnickety, claptrap, gesticulate, schadenfreudian and 199 more...
-
Interesting words
ineffable, effable, immutable, amorphous, parochial, salient, ascertain, circumspect, congenial, coeval, aversion, edification and 117 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for polymath.
cutlery "Attentive conversation is an emollient I lack sorely aboard the Prophetess & the doctor is a veritable polymath" (Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, 005.4). Jan 22, 2010