WORD OF THE DAY: Polyhistor
[pah-lee-HIS-tər]
Part of speech: Noun
Origin: Greek, 16th century
Definition: Another term for polymath (a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning)
Examples of Polyhistor in a sentence
“Looking at the bookshelf stacked with tomes on dozens of wide-ranging subjects, I sensed the AirBnB owner was a polyhistor.”
“My nephew is a polyhistor who always impresses me with the range of subjects he brings up for discussion.”
About Polyhistor
The term “polyhistor” derives from the Greek “polu” (meaning “very) and “histōr” (meaning “wise man). It’s closely associated with the more common term “polymath” (from “manthanein,” meaning learning) — but should be distinguished from the term “polyglot,” which refers to a speaker of several languages.
Did you Know?
Public libraries exploded at the turn of the 20th century, helped especially by steel billionaire Andrew Carnegie’s contribution of $60M, with which he opened 1,689 public libraries across the United States. Today there are more than 115,000 public libraries operating in the United States alone. Now much of the history of human thought and experience is available online for polyhistors to explore from every conceivable angle and location.
