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Glite Dictionary
poly-

poly-

4.1
A word part meaning many used at the start of words
  • other
translation icon : poli-
  • Adding the prefix poly- to 'glot' forms 'polyglot', meaning a person who knows many languages.

Examples

  • The word poly- is used in 'polygon' to mean a shape with many sides.

  • The prefix poly- means many.

  • Scientists use poly- in terms like 'polyatomic' to describe molecules with many atoms.

  • Don't forget that poly- means many!

  • The prefix poly- appears in the word 'polyhedron', which refers to a solid figure with many faces.

  • In biology, the term 'polygenic' uses the prefix poly- to describe traits influenced by many genes.

  • Words like 'polygamy' incorporate the prefix poly- to indicate the practice of having multiple spouses.

Synonyms

poly
vspoly-
4.1

A word part meaning many used to form compound words

is the same meaning but written with a hyphen at the start
multi-
vspoly-
  • Specialized
3.3

Goes before a word to mean more than one

is more general used simply to mean many rather than several parts

Surface Forms

poly- main

Etymology

Poly- comes from the Greek word polus meaning 'many'. You can see it in polygon ('many sides') and polyglot ('many languages'), so poly- at the start of a word tells you it means 'many' or 'more than one'.