polyglot
POL-ee-glot
/ˈpɒliɡlɒt/
A person who knows and is able to use several languages; (adj.) knowing or using several languages.
Often implies a high level of fluency and a scholarly or passionate interest in languages.
The story behind the word. From the Greek 'polyglottos'. The 'glot' part comes from 'glossa', meaning tongue. This is the same root that gives us 'glossary'.
Word relationships
- multilingual: Multilingual is the Latin-based adjective; polyglot is the Greek-based noun/adjective.
- linguist: A linguist studies the science of language; a polyglot simply speaks many of them.
- monoglot: A person who speaks only one language.
Commonly confused with
- multilingual: They are often interchangeable, but 'polyglot' sounds more sophisticated and is more common as a noun.
Word family
- glossa (noun): Greek for 'tongue'.
Collocations
- a gifted polyglot
- polyglot population
- polyglot dictionary
Example sentences
- "As a true polyglot, she could switch effortlessly between Mandarin, Arabic, and Spanish." Describing a talented individual.
- "The port city was a polyglot community where sailors from every continent traded goods and stories." Describing a place.
Memory hook
Poly (many) + Glot (sounds like 'throat'). Many languages coming from the throat. Many tongues.
When not to use
While similar to 'multilingual', 'polyglot' is more often used as a noun to describe the person themselves.
Fun facts
- The 'Complutensian Polyglot Bible' (1514) was the first printed edition of the entire Bible in several languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and Aramaic).
Related words
Explore more words
bilingual, fluent, connoisseur, erudite, cosmopolitan, intellectual
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