A polymath (from Greek "polys" (πολύς) meaning "much", great in quantity; and "mathese" (μάθηση) meaning "learning") is a person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. The other most common term for this phenomenon is Renaissance man, but also in use are Homo universalis and Uomo universale, which in Latin and Italian, respectively, translate as "universal person" or "universal man".

Informally used in contemporary discussion, a polymath is someone known to be skillful or excel in a broad range of intellectual fields.

Polymath is not synonymous with philomath, which is a seeker of knowledge; a polymath is someone already in possession of great knowledge.

Few people can genuinely be called a polymath (see List of polymaths).

The Renaissance ideal

Many notable polymaths lived during the European Renaissance period, and a rounded approach to education was typical of the ideals of the humanists of the time. A gentleman or courtier of that era was expected to speak several languages, play a musical instrument, write poetry and so on, thus fulfilling the Renaissance ideal. During the Renaissance, Baldassare Castiglione, in his The Book of the Courtier, wrote a guide to being a polymath.

On the other hand, "polymath" may be applied more strictly, taking Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson or Goethe as prime examples, and requiring a universality of approach. A polymath may not necessarily be classed as a genius, which is a related classification; and certainly a genius may not display the breadth of knowledge to qualify as a polymath. Albert Einstein is a prime example of a person widely viewed as a "genius" but who was not generally considered a polymath.

Although it may be a compliment to be called well-rounded, or a Renaissance man, there is a potentially negative connotation as well: by sacrificing depth for breadth, one becomes the "jack of all trades, master of none".

Etymological differentiation between Polymath and Polyhistor

Many dictionaries of word origins list these words as synonyms. Thus today, regardless of any differentiation they may have had when originally coined, they are often taken to mean the same thing (except when used by specialists).

The root terms histor and math have similar meanings in their etymological antecedents (to learn, learned, knowledge), though with some initial and ancillarily added differing qualities.

Innate in historíā (Greek and Latin) is that the learning takes place via inquiry and narrative. Hístōr also implies that the polyhistor displays erudition and wisdom. From Proto-Indo-European it shares a root with the word "wit". Inquiry and narrative are specific sets of pedagogical and research heuristics.

Here are two conceivable definitions of polymath. Firstly, the overt 'greatly learned,' which would be inclusive of polyhistor (though not all polymaths would be polyhistors, all polyhistors would be polymaths). Another definition would include the adjunct of science, with the Greek mathēmatikè téchnē implying that the knowledge and learning are specifically about sciences or have been gained through scientific inquiry or, more broadly, be based in mathematical logic. Science is a somewhat different set of specific research heuristics.

See also

• Know-it-all
• List of polymaths
• Philomath
• Polyhistor
• Polyglot
• There is a science fiction novel by John Brunner called Polymath, first published in 1974 by DAW Books, based on a shorter story by the same author written in 1963.

References

Further reading

• Polymath: A Renaissance Man

Giftedness | The Enlightenment | Renaissance | Polymaths

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