different between jackofalltrades vs polymath

English

Alternative forms

• polumathe, polymathe [both 17th century]

Etymology

First attested in 1624; from the Ancient Greek ????????? (polumath?s, “having learnt much”), from ????? (polús, “much”) + ???? (máth?) (math?, “learning”; from ??????? (manthán?), manthan? “I learn”); compare opsimath, philomath, polyhistor, polymathic, polymathist, and polymathy, as well as the French polymathe.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p?l?mæ?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?li?mæ?/, /?p?l?mæ?/

Noun

polymath (plural polymaths)

1. A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
   • 1624, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (2^nd edn.), p.6:

     To be thought and held Polumathes and Polihistors.

Synonyms

• polyhistor
• renaissance man

Antonyms

• monomath

Coordinate terms

• factotum, handyman, jack of all trades, sciolist

Related terms

• automath
• polymathy
• polymathic
• polymathist

Translations

References

• “polymath, n. (a.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd ed., 1989]
• “polymath, n. and adj.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [3rd ed., September 2006]