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polymathy

polymathy

9.9
Knowledge of many different subjects
  • noun
  • /ˈpɒlɪˌmæθi/
translation icon : polimatía
  • She displayed remarkable polymathy, mastering languages, music, and philosophy.

But as ever with Jung, he was distracted by his polymathy.

Examples

  • But it's equally true that polymathy was especially encouraged by more loosely professionalized cultures.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Fragment 55 is thus another passage that favors history over polymathy, expanding the attack on hearsay made in 10la.

    Academic text (1991)
  • His polymathy allowed him to excel in both science and the arts.

  • Many great thinkers, like Leonardo da Vinci, are celebrated for their polymathy across various disciplines.

Synonyms

breadth
vspolymathy
24 6.3

The range of subjects a person knows about

means having real knowledge across subjects rather than only capacity to understand
generalism
vspolymathy
8.5

Having knowledge and skills in many different areas rather than one

is the possession of knowledge across many fields rather than a conscious practice

How Knowledgeable

polymathy
9.9
breadth
24 6.3
specialized
  • US
70 5.4
basics
8 1.0
ignorance
316 3.9

Surface Forms

polymathy singular
polymathies plural

Morphology

polymathy = polymath (transparent) = polymath + y

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-y' to 'polymath' to denote the state or quality, so the meaning is directly derived from the base.

Etymology

Polymathy comes from the Greek parts poly- ('many') and mathē ('learning'), and it is related to the word polymath and to mathematics. So, polymathy means 'many learnings' — having knowledge in many different subjects.