polyglotticadj.
/ˌpɒlɪˈɡlɒtɪk/, U.S. /ˌpɑliˈɡlɑdɪk/ = polyglot adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > multilingual
polyglot1650
many-languaged1655
pantoglossical1716
polyglottic1801
polyglottal1837
multilingual1838
polylingual1857
polyglottous1861
polyglotted1868
omnilingual1893
tongue-speaking1902
plurilingual1930
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > multilingual > of or relating to many languages
polyglot?c1663
polyglottish1860
polyglottal1892
polyglottic1903
1801 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 12 583 The author is polyglottic as the hydra.
1858 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 2 109 Mr. Hodgson has probably mistaken one peak for another, more especially since the country is said to be very polyglottic.
1862 Times 14 Nov. 5/2 The conversation at his breakfast table on the great days was polyglottic.
1903 Daily Chron. 11 July 5/1 Pope Gregory the Sixteenth..was correcting the proof~sheets of a polyglottic book that Wiseman was bringing out.
1977 J. Garvin in D. Ó Muirithe Eng. Lang. in Ireland 112 Finnegans Wake..is subsumed into..‘slanguage’ which leaves the book adrift in a polyglottic sea of verbomania.
2002 Wine May 58/1 The polyglottic quagmire of the typical restaurant menu.
Derivatives
polyˈglottically adv. rare
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adverb] > in many languages
polyglottally1839
polyglotwise1875
polyglottically1887
multilingually1922
1887 S. S. Cox Isles of Princes vii. 97 Most of the barbers are polyglottically inclined.
1910 W. J. Locke Simon the Jester vi. 71 Mr. Papadopoulos polyglottically acknowledged the honour I had conferred upon him.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1801