polysynthetic

[pol-ee-sin-thet-ik]

adjective

(of a language) characterized by a prevalence of relatively long words containing a large number of affixes to express syntactic relationships and meanings. Many American Indian languages are polysynthetic.Compare analytic(def 3), synthetic(def 3).

of or relating to polysynthesism.

Sometimes pol·y·syn·thet·i·cal.

Origin of polysynthetic

1795–1805; < Late Greek polysýnthet(os) much compounded + -ic. See poly-, synthetic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for polysynthetic

Historical Examples of polysynthetic

It is called by philologists the polysynthetic construction.
The Myths of the New World
Daniel G. Brinton
Very different from all these is the spirit of a polysynthetic language.
The Myths of the New World
Daniel G. Brinton
On account of the frequent occurrence of such elements American languages have been classed as 'polysynthetic.'
The Myths of the North American Indians
Lewis Spence
The result often is certain sesquipedalia verba comparable in length to those of the American polysynthetic languages.
Man, Past and Present
Agustus Henry Keane
The Chippewa is, in its structure, what is denominated by Mr. Du Ponceau "polysynthetic."
Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for polysynthetic

polysynthetic

adjective

denoting languages, such as Inuktitut, in which single words may express the meaning of whole phrases or clauses by virtue of multiple affixesCompare synthetic (def. 3), analytic (def. 3), agglutinative (def. 2)

Derived Formspolysynthesis (ˌpɒlɪˈsɪnθɪsɪs), nounpolysynthesism, nounpolysynthetically, adverb

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