adj · noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Canada, Received-Pronunciation, dialectal:/ˈpɒlɪɡlɒt/of the US
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American, dialectal:/ˈpɑlɪˌɡlɑt/of CA
Texas:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈpɔlɪɡlɔt/
Australian:/ˈpɒlɪɡlɒt/
CMU ARPABET:P AA2 L IY2 G L AA0 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages; multilingual.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: polyglotted, polyglottic, polylingual
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Containing, or made up of, several languages; specifically, of a book (especially a bible): having text translated into several languages.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Comprising various (native) linguistic groups; multilingual.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
A polyglot region without a clearly dominant culture may develop an artificial lingua franca, such as Pidgin English in the South Sea.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A publication in several languages; specifically, a book (especially a bible) containing several versions of the same subject matter or text in several languages.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
One who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: also, figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
PIE word *glōghs Borrowed from Attic Greek πολύγλωττος (polúglōttos, “speaking many languages, multilingual”), alternative form of Ancient Greek πολῠ́γλωσσος (polŭ́glōssos, “speaking many languages, multilingual”), from πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s, “a lot of, many”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh1- (“to fill”)) + Attic Greek γλῶττα (glôtta), Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōghs (“tip of corn”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming o-grade action nouns). The English word is analysable as poly- + -glot. Noun sense 1 (“publication in several languages”) is probably derived from Late Latin polyglottus, from Attic Greek πολύγλωττος (polúglōttos): see above.
Across languages
Translations
181 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Belarusian:
шматмо́ўны
(šmatmówny)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Belarusian:
мнагамо́ўны
(mnahamówny)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Bulgarian:
многоези́чен
(mnogoezíčen)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Catalan:
poliglot
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Chinese Cantonese:
講多種語言 /讲多种语言
(gong2 do1 zung2 jyu5 jin4)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Chinese Mandarin:
多種語言 /多种语言
(duōzhǒngyǔyán)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Chinese Mandarin:
多語 /多语
(duōyǔ)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Czech:
vícejazyčný
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Czech:
mnohojazyčný
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Danish:
flersproget
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Dutch:
polyglot
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Dutch:
polyglottisch
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Dutch:
meertalig
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Faroese:
fleirmæltur
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Finnish:
monikielinen
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
French:
plurilingue
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
French:
polyglotte
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
French:
multilingue
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Georgian:
პოლიგლოტი
(ṗoligloṭi)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
German:
vielsprachig
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
German:
polyglott
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
German:
mehrsprachig
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Greek:
πολύγλωσσος
(polýglossos)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Hindi:
बहुभाषी
(bahubhāṣī)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Hungarian:
poliglott
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Hungarian:
soknyelvű
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Icelandic:
fjöltyngdur
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Interlingua:
polyglotto
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Italian:
poliglotta
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Japanese:
多言語
(tagengo)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Korean:
다중언어
(dajung'eoneo)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Korean:
다국어
(dagugeo)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Macedonian:
повеќеја́зичен
(poveḱejázičen)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Manx:
yl-çhengagh
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Norwegian Bokmål:
flerspråklig
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Norwegian Nynorsk:
fleirspråkleg
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Persian:
چند زبانه
(čand zabâne)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
wielojęzyczny
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
wielojęzykowy
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
kilkujęzyczny
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
kilkujęzykowy
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
poliglotyczny
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
różnojęzyczny
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Polish:
różnojęzykowy
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Portuguese:
poliglota
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Russian:
многоязы́чный
(mnogojazýčnyj)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Serbo-Croatian:
вишејезичан
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Serbo-Croatian:
višejezičan
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Slovak:
mnohojazyčný
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Slovene:
večjezičen
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Spanish:
poligloto
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Spanish:
polígloto
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Spanish:
políglota
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Spanish:
poliglota m or f=
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Swedish:
polyglott
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Swedish:
flerspråkig
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Turkish:
çokdilli
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Ukrainian:
багатомо́вний
(bahatomóvnyj)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Yiddish:
בעל־לשון
(bel-lshun)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Yiddish:
עטלעך־שפּראַכיק
(etlekh-shprakhik)
— of a person: speaking, or versed in, many languages — see also multilingual, plurilingual
Catalan:
poliglot
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Chinese Cantonese:
多種語言 /多种语言
(do1 zung2 jyu5 jin4)
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Dutch:
polyglottisch
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Dutch:
meertalig
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Esperanto:
plurlingva
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Faroese:
fleirmæltur
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Finnish:
monikielinen
— containing, or made up of, several languages
French:
polyglotte
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Georgian:
მრავალენოვანი
(mravalenovani)
— containing, or made up of, several languages
German:
polyglott
— containing, or made up of, several languages
German:
mehrsprachig
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Greek:
πολύγλωσσος
(polýglossos)
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Hungarian:
soknyelvű
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Hungarian:
többnyelvű
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Interlingua:
polyglotte
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Italian:
poliglotta
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Manx:
yl-çhengagh
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Portuguese:
multilíngue
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Spanish:
poligloto
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Spanish:
polígloto
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Spanish:
políglota
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Spanish:
poliglota
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Swedish:
polyglott
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Swedish:
flerspråkig
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Turkish:
çokdilli
— containing, or made up of, several languages
Chinese Cantonese:
多種語言 /多种语言
(do1 zung2 jyu5 jin4)
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Dutch:
polyglottisch
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Dutch:
veeltalig
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Esperanto:
plurlingvfamilia
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Esperanto:
plurlingvgrupa
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Finnish:
monikielinen
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Greek:
πολύγλωσσος
(polýglossos)
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Hungarian:
többnyelvű
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Hungarian:
soknyelvű
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Interlingua:
polyglotte
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Turkish:
çokdil
— comprising various (native) linguistic groups — see also multilingual
Czech:
polyglota
— publication in several languages
Dutch:
polyglot
— publication in several languages
Dutch:
polyglotte
— publication in several languages
French:
polyglotte
— publication in several languages
German:
Polyglotte
— publication in several languages
Greek:
πολύγλωσσος
(polýglossos)
— publication in several languages
Polish:
poliglota
— publication in several languages
Russian:
полигло́тта
(poliglótta)
— publication in several languages
Serbo-Croatian:
višejezičnik
— publication in several languages
Albanian:
poliglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Arabic:
مَزِيج مِن اللُّغَات
(mazīj min al-luḡāt)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Arabic:
بُولِيجْلُوت
(būlīglūt)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Armenian:
պոլիգլոտ
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Belarusian:
палігло́т
(palihlót)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Bulgarian:
полигло́т
(poliglót)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Catalan:
poliglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Catalan:
poliglota
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Chinese Mandarin:
多語者 /多语者
(duōyǔzhě)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Chinese Mandarin:
通數國語文的人 /通数国语文的人
(tōng shù guóyǔ wén de rén)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Chinese Mandarin:
通曉數種語言的人 /通晓数种语言的人
(tōngxiǎo shù zhǒng yǔyán de rén)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Czech:
polyglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Dutch:
polyglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Dutch:
polyglotte
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Dutch:
meertalige
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Dutch:
talenkenner
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Dutch:
veeltalige
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Esperanto:
poligloto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Esperanto:
plurlingvulo
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Esperanto:
plurlingvano
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Estonian:
polüglott
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Faroese:
fleirmælingur
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Finnish:
polyglotti
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Finnish:
kielitaituri
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
French:
polyglotte
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Georgian:
პოლიგლოტი
(ṗoligloṭi)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
German:
Polyglotter
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
German:
Polyglotte
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Greek:
γλωσσομαθής
(glossomathís)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Greek:
πολύγλωσσος
(polýglossos)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Hebrew:
פּוֹלִיגְלוֹט
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Hebrew:
רב־לשוני
(rav-leshoní)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Hindi:
भाषाविद्
(bhāṣāvid)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Hungarian:
poliglott
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Hungarian:
többnyelvű/soknyelvű (ember)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Ido:
poligloto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Ido:
poliglotulo
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Ido:
poliglotino
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Indonesian:
poliglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Indonesian:
multibahasawan
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Interlingua:
polyglotto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Italian:
poliglotto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Italian:
poliglotta
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Japanese:
ポリグロット
(porigurotto)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Japanese:
多言語話者
(tagengo-washa)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Kazakh:
полиглот
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Kyrgyz:
полиглот
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Latvian:
poliglots
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Latvian:
poliglote
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Lithuanian:
poliglotas
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Lithuanian:
poliglotė
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Macedonian:
полигло́т
(poliglót)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Ossetian:
полиглот
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Persian:
چندزبانه
(čandzabâne)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Persian:
متکلم به چند زبان
(motekallem be čand zabân)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Polish:
poliglota
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Polish:
poliglotka
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Portuguese:
poliglota
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Romanian:
poliglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Romanian:
poliglotă
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Russian:
полигло́т
(poliglót)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Scottish Gaelic:
ioma-chànanach
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Serbo-Croatian:
полѝглот
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Serbo-Croatian:
polìglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Slovak:
polyglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Slovene:
poliglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Spanish:
políglota
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Spanish:
poliglota
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Spanish:
polígloto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Spanish:
poligloto
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Tamil:
பன்மொழியாளர்
(paṉmoḻiyāḷar)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Ukrainian:
полігло́т
(polihlót)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Volapük:
polüglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Volapük:
hipolüglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Volapük:
jipolüglot
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
Yiddish:
פּאָליגלאָט
(poliglot)
— one who has mastered (especially when able to speak) several languages
