Renaissance man
9
7.3
- noun
- /ˈrɛnəˌsɑns mæn/
:
hombre del Renacimiento
- Leonardo da Vinci is often considered the quintessential Renaissance man due to his diverse talents in art, science, and engineering.
We all know him, the Renaissance man, Jack of all trades.
- We all know him, the Renaissance man, Jack of all trades.
- But we really wanted to be Renaissance men and women.
- Then he gained recognition as a real genius and Renaissance man.
- These guys are kind of Renaissance men of all.
- What I mean by that is in hindsight, I really am a renaissance man, meaning I'm an entrepreneur, but I'm really an entrepreneur.
Examples
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The Cincinnati Observatory was founded by Ormsby MacKnight (O. M.) Mitchel, a true "Renaissance man" who was an engineer, lawyer, professor, astronomer, and general in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Academic text (2005) -
In addition to holding a medical degree, he also holds J.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., and M.Div. degrees—a true Renaissance man.
Academic text (1998) -
But Steve Jobs was the Renaissance man in management.
Blog text (8) -
I'm kind of a Renaissance man, Frank.
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I'm a Renaissance man, too.
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Today's guest is a renaissance man to say the least.
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He's a regular Renaissance man.
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He was, in effect, a real Renaissance man.
Academic text (1991) -
No Renaissance man is complete without musical chops, and Mr. Garmey had those, too.
Blog text (9) -
Caleb Wojcik is the co-creator of Expert Enough and a modern-day renaissance man.
Blog text (20)
Synonyms
9
5.5
A person who knows and works in many different areas
How Versatile
2
9.1
9
7.3
9
5.5
- Informal
1
4.3
352
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase links 'Renaissance' (a period of renewed interest in art and learning) with 'man', so a learner can partly infer it denotes someone associated with learning and the arts; however, deriving the specific sense 'a person with broad skills across arts and sciences' requires cultural/historical knowledge about Renaissance polymaths and is not fully predictable from the literal words alone. This makes the expression partially inferable but not transparently compositional for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Renaissance man comes from the time called the Renaissance in Europe, when people like Leonardo da Vinci learned painting, science, and engineering all at once. Seeing someone who could do many different things made 'Renaissance man' mean 'a person with wide skills and knowledge in many fields'.