polymath

A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.

Noun

  1. A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
    • To be thought and held Polumathes and Polihistors. - 1624, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (2ⁿᵈ edn.), p.6
    • A bit of a polymath, he was crucial in the early development of the railways in this country. - 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques”, in RAIL, number 947, page 56:

    Synonyms: polyhistor Renaissance man

    Coordinate Terms: automath monomath opsimath

Origin

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.

Forms

polymaths polumathe polymathe

Related

polymathist polymathy factotum handyman jack of all trades sciolist

Derived

polymathic