polymath
/ˈpɑliˌmæθ/noun
polymath is spelled P-O-L-Y-M-A-T-H: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, polymath means “A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of polymath is polymaths.
How many letters and syllables are in polymath?
| Letters | 8: P-O-L-Y-M-A-T-H |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 76,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is polymath?
Polymath appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce polymath?
- UK /ˈpɒlɪmæθ/
- US /ˈpɑliˌmæθ/
- US /ˈpɑlɪmæθ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-polymath.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of polymath
- polymaths plural
- polumathe
- polymathe
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does polymath mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
To be thought and held Polumathes and Polihistors.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Polymath in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | polymathe, homme de la Renaissance |
| German | Polyhistor, Universalgelehrter |
| Portuguese | polímata, polímato |
| Spanish | polímata |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does polymath come from?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυμαθής (polumathḗs, “having learnt much”), first attested in 1624. From πολύς (polús, “much”) (for more, see poly-) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “to learn”). Compare opsimath, philomath, polyhistor, polymathic, polymathist, and polymathy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).