polyglot

American  

[pol-ee-glot] / ˈpɒl iˌglɒt /

adjective

1. able to speak or write several languages; multilingual.

2. containing, composed of, or written in several languages.

   a polyglot Bible.

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noun

• polyglots
  plural

1. a mixture or confusion of languages.

2. a person who speaks, writes, or reads a number of languages.

3. a book, especially a Bible, containing the same text in several languages.

polyglot British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌɡlɒt /

adjective

1. having a command of many languages

2. written in, composed of, or containing many languages

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noun

1. a person with a command of many languages

2. a book, esp a Bible, containing several versions of the same text written in various languages

3. a mixture or confusion of languages

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• polyglotism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• polyglots
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

polyglot polyglots

Ernst is handsome, cultured, cool under pressure, effortlessly polyglot and unshakably ethical.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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

But the polyglot pope, a former missionary to Peru, initially cultivated a more sober and discreet style that contrasted with the spontaneity of his predecessor pope Francis.

From Barron's ● May 6, 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

The Americas had two empires, those of the Aztecs and Incas, which resembled their Eurasian counterparts in size, population, polyglot makeup, official religions, and origins in the conquest of smaller states.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

In the brains of these polyglots -- people who speak five or more languages -- the same language regions light up when they listen to any of the languages that they speak.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024

Inside the fMRI machine, the polyglots listened to a series of 16-second-long recordings in one of eight different languages.

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

So she is going to join the polyglots, too, it appears.

From Mark Twain's Letters — Volume 4 (1886-1900) by Albert Bigelow Paine

Related Words

• linguist
• wordsmith