polymath

• polumathe, polymathe [both 17th century]

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυμαθής (polumathḗs, “having learnt much”), first attested in 1624. From πολύς (polús, “much”) + μανθάνω (manthánō, “to learn”). Compare opsimath, philomath, polyhistor, polymathic, polymathist, and polymathy. By surface analysis, poly- +‎ math.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒlɪmæθ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑliˌmæθ/, /ˈpɑlɪmæθ/

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polymath (plural polymaths)

1. A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.

   Synonyms: polyhistor, Renaissance man

   Coordinate terms: automath, monomath, opsimath

   • 1624, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (2^nd edn.), p.6:

     To be thought and held Polumathes and Polihistors.

   • 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques”, in RAIL, number 947, page 56:

     A bit of a polymath, he was crucial in the early development of the railways in this country.

• factotum, handyman, jack of all trades, sciolist

• polymathic

• automath
• polymathy
• polymathist

• “polymath, n. (a.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd ed., 1989]
• “polymath, n. and adj.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [3rd ed., September 2006]