Polyglottist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who speaks, reads, or writes multiple languages fluently
2. An individual who demonstrates fluency in numerous languages, allowing for effective communication in diverse linguistic contexts
3. A person capable of communicating fluently in several different languages

Etymology: Ancient Greek used "glotta," later "glossa," for both "tongue" and "language." Add "polys," meaning "many," and you get "polyglottos," or "many-tongued," used for people who spoke several languages. The same root gave English "gloss," originally an explanation written in the margin to clarify a difficult term in another language. English borrowed "polyglot" as an adjective and first applied it mainly to books, especially multilingual Bibles printed with the same text in several languages side by side. Its use for people came later. "Polyglottist" is a later formation, built by adding the suffix "-ist," which marks a person who practises or is skilled at something, as in "linguist" or "violinist." The noun therefore names someone skilled in many languages, and the Greek "many tongues" remains visible in it.

Synonyms: multilingual, linguist, bilingual, translator, interpreter

Antonyms: monolingual, unilingual