polysynthetic

[ pol-ee-sin-thet-ik ]

adjective

1. (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 ).
2. of or relating to polysynthesism.

polysynthetic

/ ˌpɒlɪsɪnˈθɛtɪk; ˌpɒlɪˈsɪnθɪsɪs /

adjective

1. denoting languages, such as Inuktitut, in which single words may express the meaning of whole phrases or clauses by virtue of multiple affixes Compare synthetic analytic agglutinative

Derived Forms

• ˌpolysynˈthetically, adverb
• polysynthesis, noun
• ˌpolyˈsynthesism, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of polysynthetic¹

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

Example Sentences

This quality, which linguists describe as “polysynthetic,” means that many affixes may attach to a verb—and with each additional affix another layer of story accrues.

From Scientific American

Kanyen’keha is a polysynthetic language, where a single word can function as an entire sentence.

From New York Times

Additionally, many Indigenous languages are polysynthetic; they do not have fixed vocabularies but rely instead on the recombinations of small building blocks of words.

From New York Times

Unrelated to any other language, its grammar is complex and its structure polysynthetic; a verb conveys not just action but a wealth of other information.

From New York Times

When often repeated on the same plane, the twinning is said to be “polysynthetic,” and gives rise to a laminated structure in the crystal.

From Project Gutenberg