Word: polyglot (noun, adjective)

Associations

"Polyglot" means a person who knows and can use several languages. It can also describe something related to many languages.

• A polyglot can speak English, Spanish, and Chinese fluently. This means they know many languages.
• A polyglot book contains texts in several languages.
• Polyglot people are often good at learning new languages because they already know many.

Synonym: "multilingual" is very similar.

• "Polyglot" usually means a person who speaks many languages.
• "Multilingual" can describe a person or something (like a document) that uses several languages.
• The main difference: "polyglot" focuses more on the person, "multilingual" can be used more broadly.

Substitution

Instead of "polyglot," you can say:

• multilingual person (more formal)
• language lover (less formal, more about interest)
• linguist (if the person studies languages deeply) Each substitution changes the tone or meaning slightly. For example, "linguist" is more about study, "polyglot" is about speaking many languages.

Deconstruction

"Polyglot" comes from Greek:

• "poly-" means "many"
• "-glot" comes from "glossa," meaning "tongue" or "language" So, polyglot literally means "many tongues" or "many languages."

Inquiry

• How many languages do you think someone needs to speak to be called a polyglot?
• Can you think of people you know who might be polyglots?
• Why do you think being a polyglot is useful or interesting?