polyglot
/ˌpɒˌliɡlɒt/po-lee-glot
/ˌpɑˌliɡlɑt/pah-lee-glaht
Meaningmany tongues
Common meaning: someone who speaks many languages
- polymuch; manyLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 658 · scan
- glotGreek glotta: tongue, language
‘much’ + ‘tongue, language’ → polyglot
Journey through time
- Greekπολύς (polús)‘much’
- Englishpolyglot‘someone who speaks many languages’ · today
poly also in: polygonpolygamypolymathpolygraphpolyhedron
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) ‘much; many’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry πολύς (polús), p. 658 · dictionary scan
Roots
- πολύς (polús) Ancient Greek “much; many”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app