polyglot
Americanadjective
-
able to speak or write several languages; multilingual.
-
containing, composed of, or written in several languages.
a polyglot Bible.
noun
-
polyglots
plural
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a mixture or confusion of languages.
-
a person who speaks, writes, or reads a number of languages.
-
a book, especially a Bible, containing the same text in several languages.
adjective
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having a command of many languages
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written in, composed of, or containing many languages
noun
-
a person with a command of many languages
-
a book, esp a Bible, containing several versions of the same text written in various languages
-
a mixture or confusion of languages
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of polyglot
First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin polyglōttus, from Greek polýglōttos “many-tongued”; see poly-, -glot
Explanation
Ni hao! Comment allez-vous? Estoy bien, gracias. Sayōnara! If you understood everything you just read, you’re probably a polyglot — a person who understands multiple languages. There are thousands of languages spoken in the world, but you don’t need to know them all to be a polyglot. The –glot comes from the Greek word for “tongue,” and the prefix poly- means “more than one,” so if you speak two or more languages, you’re technically a polyglot. Well done! Polyglot can also be used as an adjective, like describing "a polyglot neighborhood" full of people from many different cultures or the "polyglot crowd at the Olympic games."
Vocabulary lists containing polyglot
Dracula
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Ender's Game
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Most of this is described in polyglot, suggesting he felt some shame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Al-Hashimi became a polyglot — speaking English, Farsi and Armenian — in part to curb the effects of a seizure disorder on her temporal lobe, which is crucial for language comprehension.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
In other words, a significant number of multiracial Americans will “airbrush” their polyglot lineage and instead focus on their European provenance.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2026
Having gained a reputation for punchy phrases, the polyglot politician appears unlikely to shy away from the fight.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
With his passing, he evaded the overwhelming consequence of his success: the challenge of consolidating a polyglot empire unprecedented in size and comprising peoples who, by and large, despised each other.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
Studying polyglots can help researchers learn more about the functions of the language network, and how languages learned later in life might be represented differently than a native language or languages.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024
No previous study has studied so many polyglots.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 3, 2023
Some polyglots have noted problems with the languages already available.
From BBC ● May 11, 2022
Understanding the importance of languages in a globalized world, many Kenyans speak English, Swahili and a tribal language, and polyglots are common throughout Africa.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 21, 2018
My work was the proof-reading of my book of travel in its varying polyglots, seeing through the press English versions of my two text-books, and writing a third in both English and German.
From The Story of an Untold Love by Paul Leicester Ford
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
