# Polymath ## Pronunciation - <details><summary>ˈpɒlɪmaθ</summary><audio controls><source src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/dictionary/static/sounds/20200429/polymath--_gb_2.mp3"></audio></details> ## Meanings ### Noun a person of wide knowledge or learning. > a Renaissance polymath ## Origin early 17th century: from Greek polumathēs ‘having learned much’, from polu- ‘much’ + the stem of manthanein ‘learn’. ## Wikipedia "Universal man" redirects here. For the sculpture by Canadian artist Gerald Gladstone, see [Universal Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Man "Universal Man"). "Polyhistor" redirects here. For the ancient Greek scholar, see [Alexander Polyhistor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Polyhistor "Alexander Polyhistor"). For other uses, see [Polymath (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath_(disambiguation) "Polymath (disambiguation)"). [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Franklin_1767.jpg) [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Franklin_1767.jpg "Enlarge") [Benjamin Franklin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin "Benjamin Franklin") is one of the foremost polymaths in history. Franklin was a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer and political philosopher. He was one of the [Founding Fathers of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States "Founding Fathers of the United States"). A **polymath** ([Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language "Greek language"): πολυμαθής, _polymathēs_, "having learned much"; [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language "Latin language"): _homo universalis_, "universal human")[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-Aus-1) is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. In Western Europe, the first work to use the term **polymathy** in its title (_De Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum_) was published in 1603 by [Johann von Wowern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_von_Wowern "Johann von Wowern"), a Hamburg philosopher.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-auto-2)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-3)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-4) Von Wowern defined polymathy as "knowledge of various matters, drawn from all kinds of studies ... ranging freely through all the fields of the disciplines, as far as the [human](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human "Human") mind, with unwearied industry, is able to pursue them".[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-auto-2) Von Wowern lists erudition, literature, [philology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology "Philology"), [philomathy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomathy "Philomathy") and polyhistory as synonyms. The earliest recorded use of the term in the [English language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language "English language") is from 1624, in the second edition of _[The Anatomy of Melancholy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anatomy_of_Melancholy "The Anatomy of Melancholy")_ by [Robert Burton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burton_(scholar) "Robert Burton (scholar)");[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-oed-5) the form _polymathist_ is slightly older, first appearing in the _Diatribae upon the first part of the late History of Tithes_ of [Richard Montagu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Montagu "Richard Montagu") in 1621.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-oed2-6) Use in English of the similar term _polyhistor_ dates from the late 16th century.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-oed3-7) Polymaths include the great scholars and thinkers of the [Renaissance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance "Renaissance") and [Enlightenment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment "Age of Enlightenment"), who excelled at several fields in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts. In the [Italian Renaissance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance "Italian Renaissance"), the idea of the polymath was expressed by [Leon Battista Alberti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Battista_Alberti "Leon Battista Alberti") (1404–1472) in the statement that "a man can do all things if he will".[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath#cite_note-8) [Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz") has often been seen as a polymath. [Al-Biruni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Biruni "Al-Biruni") was also a polymath.[_[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_] Embodying a basic tenet of [Renaissance humanism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_humanism "Renaissance humanism") that humans are limitless in their capacity for development, the concept led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. This is expressed in the term **Renaissance man**, often applied to the [gifted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_giftedness "Intellectual giftedness") people of that age who sought to develop their abilities in all areas of accomplishment: intellectual, artistic, social, physical, and spiritual. *** *Autogenerated by Obsidian Dictionary Plugin*