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Polymath - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
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Origin and history of polymath

polymath(n.)

"person of various learning," 1620s, from Greek polymathēs "having learned much, knowing much," from polys "much" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill") + root of manthanein "to learn" (from PIE root *mendh- "to learn"). Related: Polymathy "acquaintance with many branches of learning" (1640s, from Greek polymathia "much learning"); polymathic.

also from 1620s

Entries linking to polymath

*mendh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to learn." It might form all or part of: chrestomathy; mathematic; mathematical; mathematics; opsimathy; polymath.

It might also be the source of: Greek menthere "to care," manthanein "to learn," mathēma "science, knowledge, mathematical knowledge;" Lithuanian mandras "wide-awake;" Old Church Slavonic madru "wise, sage;" Gothic mundonsis "to look at," German munter "awake, lively."

*pele-(1)

*pelə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to fill," with derivatives referring to abundance and multitude.

It might form all or part of: accomplish; complete; compliment; comply; depletion; expletive; fele; fill; folk; full (adj.); gefilte fish; hoi polloi; implement; manipulation; nonplus; plebe; plebeian; plebiscite; pleiotropy; Pleistocene; plenary; plenitude; plenty; plenum; plenipotentiary; pleo-; pleonasm; plethora; Pliocene; pluperfect; plural; pluri-; plus; Pollux; poly-; polyamorous; polyandrous; polyclinic; polydactylism; polydipsia; Polydorus; polyethylene; polyglot; polygon; polygraph; polygyny; polyhedron; polyhistor; polymath; polymer; polymorphous; Polynesia; polyp; Polyphemus; polyphony; polysemy; polysyllabic; polytheism; replenish; replete; supply; surplus; volkslied.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit purvi "much," prayah "mostly;" Avestan perena-, Old Persian paru "much;" Greek polys "much, many," plethos "people, multitude, great number," ploutos "wealth;" Latin plus "more," plenus "full;" Lithuanian pilus "full, abundant;" Old Church Slavonic plunu; Gothic filu "much," Old Norse fjöl-, Old English fela, feola "much, many;" Old English folgian; Old Irish lan, Welsh llawn "full;" Old Irish il, Welsh elu "much."

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    Trends of polymath

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    cathode
    William Whewell, English polymath, and published by English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday....
    photograph
    "a picture obtained by any process of photography," 1839, coined by English polymath and photography pioneer Sir John Herschel...
    Eocene
    William Whewell, English polymath, and meant as "the dawn of the recent." As a noun from 1851....
    physicist
    William Whewell, English polymath, to denote a "cultivator of physics" as opposed to a physician....
    Indo-European
    1814, coined by English polymath Thomas Young (1773-1829) and first used in an article in the "Quarterly Review," from Indo...
    initiate
    "one who has been initiated" (in secret doctrines, etc.), 1732, from obsolete or archaic past-participle adjective initiate "initiated, instructed in secret knowledge" (c. 1600), from Latin initiatus (see initiate (v.))....c. 1600, "introduce to some practice or system," also "be
    party
    c. 1300, partie, "a part, division, section, portion," a sense now obsolete; also "physical piece, fragment; section of a book or treatise," from Old French partie "side, part; portion, share; separation, division" (12c.), literally "that which is divided," noun use of fem. past
    discriminate
    1620s, "distinguish from something else or from each other, observe or mark the differences between," from Latin discriminatus, past participle of discriminare "to divide, separate," from discrimen (genitive discriminis) "interval, distinction, difference," derived noun from disc
    portmanteau
    1580s, "flexible traveling case or bag for clothes and other necessaries," from Middle French portemanteau "traveling bag," originally "court official who carried a prince's mantle" (1540s), from porte, imperative of porter "to carry" (see porter (n.1)) + manteau "cloak" (see man
    development
    1756, "a gradual unfolding, a full working out or disclosure of the details of something;" see develop + -ment. Meaning "the internal process of expanding and growing" is by 1796; sense of "advancement through progressive stages" is by 1836.  Of property, with a sense of "a

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