Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “polyglotter” come from?

polyglotter (French) comes from French polyglotte, from Ancient Greek πολύγλωττος, from Ancient Greek γλῶττα, from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα, from Old Norse glotta, from Proto-Germanic glutōną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰel- — to shine, glimmer, glow; to shimmer, gleam;...

polyglotter (French): To speak several languages

Definitions

  1. To speak several languages

Ancestry of “polyglotter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchpolyglottepolyglot; a polyglot
2Ancient Greekπολύγλωττοςmany-tongued, polyglot
3Ancient GreekγλῶτταAttic form of γλῶσσα
4Ancient Greekγλῶσσαa tongue; a language; the mouthpiece of a pipe
5Old Norseglottato grin, smile scornfully
6Proto-GermanicglutōnąTo stare; gawk
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰel-to shine, glimmer, glow; to shimmer, gleam;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰel- →