polyglot

noun poly·glot \ ˈpä-lē-ˌglät \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Definition of polyglot

1 : one who is polyglot

2 capitalized : a book containing versions of the same text in several languages; especially : the Scriptures in several languages

3 : a mixture or confusion of languages or nomenclatures

polyglot was our Word of the Day on 10/06/2013. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of polyglot from the Web

The pop-culture polyglot known as Cher snuck quietly into Chicago this past weekend.

— chris jones, chicagotribune.com, "Cher sneaks into Chicago. And what does she think of 'The Cher Show'?," 25 June 2018
The former president is urbane, polyglot and out of touch.

— The Economist, "Peru’s new president, Martín Vizcarra, explains his plans," 17 May 2018
But material was clipped from the finished product as always, especially true for a cosmopolitan polyglot with an otherworldly dedication to fitness.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "Five Stories That Show Off Zdeno Chara's Relentless Focus," 5 Apr. 2018
While some athletes are destined to embody their names, Stanton’s name — polyglot, lyrical and lengthy — may reveal something about him, too.

— billy witz, New York Times, "How Giancarlo Stanton Let Go of ‘Mike’ and Embraced Who He Is," 2 Apr. 2018
Figure out how to communicate with these stubborn polyglots, and then check the solution here.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Riddle of the Week #52: Knights and Knaves, Part 10," 2 Mar. 2018
Thaer was an Iraqi lawyer and polyglot who spoke five languages and knew everyone.

— phillip carter, Slate Magazine, "In barring even those who’ve helped us wage our wars, Trump signaled to the world that American friendship comes with an asterisk.," 28 Jan. 2017
But buried in all the announcements of the event—a new laptop, a clip-on body camera, and a supercharged Google Home that doesn't sound terrible—was one new piece of hardware that got us non-polyglots very excited: The Google Pixel Buds.

— sebastian modak, CNT, "Google's New Pixel Buds Can Translate Languages in Real Time," 5 Oct. 2017
Whatever the reason, the number of players on the team swelled, and the Bison became a polyglot of the deaf experience—

— matthew davis, The Atlantic, "'America's Deaf Team' Tackles Identity Politics," 10 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'polyglot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of polyglot

²polyglot

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1645

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

polyglot

adjective

Definition of polyglot

1 a : speaking or writing several languages : multilingual

b : composed of numerous linguistic groups

a polyglot population

2 : containing matter in several languages

a polyglot sign

3 : composed of elements from different languages

4 : widely diverse (as in ethnic or cultural origins)

a polyglot cuisine

See polyglot defined for English-language learners

See polyglot defined for kids

Examples of polyglot in a Sentence

a polyglot community made up of many cultures

Recent Examples of polyglot from the Web

Café Alaska was not so much a place of refreshment as a carousel of human comedies spun around the noisy grinding of coffee beans and furnished with a rack of polyglot newspapers on the far wall.

— norman lebrecht, WSJ, "‘A Rich Brew’ Review: A Remarkable Cultural Infusion," 28 June 2018
Yemen Blues Ravid Kahalani's Yemen Blues brings a polyglot mix of music from Yemen and West Africa, with inspirations of contemporary grooves, from funk to mambo, and the deep soul of old chants.

— laura demarco, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Museum of art announces 2018 Solstice performers, ticket info," 2 May 2018
Consider the Philadelphia 76ers, whose polyglot roster includes players from seven countries.

— New York Times, "A Polyglot N.B.A. Swears by One Thing: That Call Was #@!&," 30 Apr. 2018
Like gumbo, sauce piquant is one of Louisiana’s polyglot dishes, combining elements of Cajun, Creole, Italian, French and Spanish cuisines.

— keith pandolfi, WSJ, "The Spicy Red Sauce That Goes With Everything," 14 Mar. 2018
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, 59, a polyglot gourmet cook, has been a steadfast Merkel loyalist, taking on taken some of the toughest jobs for the chancellor.

— arne delfs, Bloomberg.com, "Merkel Appoints Conservative Flag-Bearer to New Cabinet," 25 Feb. 2018
For Vargas Llosa, London had long been a model of how polyglot pluralism, democracy and free markets should work together.

— marcela valdes, New York Times, "The Elder Statesman of Latin American Literature — and a Writer of Our Moment," 20 Feb. 2018
The Lord has granted Buffalo a lot: A population proudly polyglot, A lake, some chicken wings profoundly great.

— erik brady, USA TODAY, "Can Bills finally put an end to 17-year playoff skid?," 31 Oct. 2017
Hannibal led that army, a polyglot assemblage of African and Iberian peoples, to three successive victories over numerically superior Roman forces.

— james romm, WSJ, "The Scourge of Rome," 7 July 2017

Did You Know?

You've probably run across the prefix poly- before-it comes from Greek and means "many" or "multi-." But what about glot? That part of the word comes from the Greek term glōtta, meaning "language" or "tongue." (Glōtta is also the source of glottis, the word for the space between the vocal cords.) Polyglot itself entered English in the 17th century, both as an adjective and as a noun meaning "one who can write or speak several languages." You could call the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V a polyglot. He claimed that he addressed his horse only in German, he conversed with women in Italian and with men in French, but reserved Spanish for his talks with God.