Nearby Words

polyglot

[pol-ee-glot] Example Sentences Origin

pol·y·glot

[pol-ee-glot]
adjective
1.
able to speak or write several languages; multilingual.
2.
containing, composed of, or written in several languages: a polyglot Bible.
noun
3.
a mixture or confusion of languages.
4.
a person who speaks, writes, or reads a number of languages.
5.
a book, especially a Bible, containing the same text in several languages.

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Polyglot is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

Origin:
1635–45; < Medieval Latin polyglōttus < Greek polýglōttos many-tongued. See poly-, -glot

pol·y·glot·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • And the city is enriched by its polyglot culture in countless ways, including a blossoming of its arts scene.
  • Being bilingual, trilingual or a polyglot is an amazing feat.
  • Citizens of small countries are generally more polyglot than those of large ones.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
polyglot (ˈpɒlɪˌɡlɒt)
 
adj
1.  having a command of many languages
2.  written in, composed of, or containing many languages
 
n
3.  a person with a command of many languages
4.  a book, esp a Bible, containing several versions of the same text written in various languages
5.  a mixture or confusion of languages
 
[C17: from Greek poluglōttos literally: many-tongued, from poly- + glōtta tongue]
 
'polyglotism
 
n
 
'polyglottism
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

polyglot
c.1645, from Gk. polyglottos "speaking many languages," lit. "many-tongued," from polys "many" (see poly-) + glotta, Attic variant of glossa "language," lit. "tongue."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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