polymathic means pertaining to polymathy; acquainted with many branches of learning. It carries an Arena rating of 1579, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, polymathic ranks #6,170 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,776 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #8,321 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #8,372 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
Why “polymathic” is a great word
Denoting a profound and serious acquaintance with many branches of learning. From Greek polymathēs ("having learned much"), from poly- ("many") + manthanein ("to learn"), the English adjective is attested from the mid-18th century. Unlike "specialized" (which denotes a vertical descent into a single discipline) or "dilettantish" (which flits along surfaces), "polymathic" implies a substantial and integrated understanding. It is the mind that connects celestial mechanics to a sonnet's meter, traces the history of a spice route through a ceramic shard, and perceives the shared architecture in a sonata and a spiral nebula—the quiet assertion that knowledge is a single, vast tapestry, not a collection of isolated threads.
Etymology
From polymath + -ic.
adj
- Pertaining to polymathy; acquainted with many branches of learning.e.g.“Is it uncharitable to want a book that achieves so much to do more? Perhaps. Taken on its own terms, “The Human Age” is a dazzling achievement: immensely readable, lively, polymathic, audacious.” — 2014 September 5, Rob Nixon, “Future Footprints”, in New York Times:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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