polyglot
adjEtymology
PIE word *glōgʰs Borrowed from Attic Greek πολύγλωττος (polúglōttos, “speaking many languages, multilingual”), alternative form of Ancient Greek πολῠ́γλωσσος (polŭ́glōssos, “speaking many languages, multilingual”), from πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s, “a lot of, many”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + Attic Greek γλῶττα (glôtta), Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰs (“tip of corn”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming o-grade action nouns). The English word is analysable as poly- + -glot. Noun sense 1 (“publication in several languages”) is probably derived from Late Latin polyglottus, from Attic Greek πολύγλωττος (polúglōttos): see above.
Of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages; multilingual.
- '[T]is thought the two and twenty Languages which Mythrydates the great Polyglot King of Pontus did ſpeak, wer all within the circumference of Anatolia in regard his dominions extended but a little further: […]1630 August 3 (Gregorian calendar), James Howell, “LVIII. To the Right Hon. the E. R.”, in [Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ.] A New Volume of Familiar Letters, […], 3rd edition, volume II, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], published 1655, →OCLC, section, page 77:
- For this flyaway son of a Phœnician did not seem to wait for the decision of the polyglot Judges of the Emigration Board.1910 January 12, Ameen Rihani, “On the Wharf of Enchantment”, in The Book of Khalid, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, book the first (In the Exchange), page 38:
1 more example
- Esperanto is never a speaker’s only language but has to compete with their (usually stronger) other languages. As Esperanto speakers are more polyglot than average[…], this competition is even stronger.2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “Esperanto and language change” (chapter 25), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language Community, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 327:
Containing, or made up of, several languages; specifically, of a book (especially a bible): having text translated into several languages.
- a polyglot bible a polyglot lexicon
Comprising various (native) linguistic groups; multilingual.
- Even in Switzerland, one of the most polyglot of nations, no more than 10 percent of the people are capable of writing a simple letter in English.1990, Bill Bryson, “English as a World Language”, in the Mother Tongue:
- A polyglot region without a clearly dominant culture may develop an artificial lingua franca, such as Pidgin English in the South Sea.
- Derived terms
- hyperpolyglot, polyglotism, polyglottism, polyglottal, polyglotted, polyglottery, polyglottic, polyglottology, polyglotwise
- Related terms
- diglossia, diglossic, diglossically, diglottism, monoglottism, polyglossia, polyglossic, polyglossy, triglossia, triglossic, bilingual, monolingual, multilingual, parallel text, trilingual