polymath

noun

poly·​math ˈpä-lē-ˌmath How to pronounce polymath (audio)
: a person of encyclopedic learning
polymath adjective
or polymathic

Examples of polymath in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Even polymath Leonardo da Vinci was subject to this arrangement. Michael Ashley, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025 Toth’s character does draw upon real historical figures for inspiration, most prominently two fellow Hungarian Jewish refugees: architect and designer Marcel Breuer and polymath Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Anthony Paletta, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025 These included Donato Bramante (the architect whose original plan for St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City would inspire Michelangelo) and the painter and polymath Leonardo da Vinci, who frescoed several rooms in the castle. Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025 The late polymath and famously eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes was a businessman, pilot, aerospace engineer, investor, and philanthropist turned recluse who was once the richest man in the world. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 7 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for polymath

Word History

Etymology

Greek polymathēs very learned, from poly- + manthanein to learn — more at mathematical

First Known Use

1621, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of polymath was in 1621

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Cite this Entry

“Polymath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polymath. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

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