Polyembryonic Pol`y·em`bry·on"ic adjective [
Poly- +
embryonic .]
(Botany) Polyembryonate.
Polyembryony Pol`y·em"bry·o·ny noun [ See
Poly- , and
Embryo .]
(Botany) The production of two or more embryos in one seed, due either to the existence and fertilization of more than one embryonic sac or to the origination of embryos outside of the embryonic sac.
Polyfoil Pol"y·foil noun [
Poly- +
foil , noun ]
(Architecture) Same as Multifoil .
Polygala Po·lyg"a·la noun [ Latin , milkwort, from Greek ...;
poly`s much + ... milk.]
A genus of bitter herbs or shrubs having eight stamens and a two-celled ovary (as the Seneca snakeroot, the flowering wintergreen, etc.); milkwort.
Polygalaceous Pol`y·ga·la"ceous adjective Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants ( Polygalaceæ ) of which Polygala is the type.
Polygalic Po·lyg"a·lic adjective (Chemistry) Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, Polygala; specifically, designating an acrid glucoside (called polygalic acid , senegin , etc.), resembling, or possibly identical with, saponin .
Polygamia Pol`y·ga"mi·a noun plural [ New Latin See
Polygamous .]
(Botany) (a) A Linnæan class of plants, characterized by having both hermaphrodite and unisexual flowers on the same plant. (b) A name given by Linnæus to file orders of plants having syngenesious flowers.
Polygamian Pol`y·ga"mi·an adjective (Botany) Polygamous.
Polygamist Po·lyg"a·mist noun [ Confer French
polygamiste ,
polygame , Greek ...,
adjective ]
One who practices polygamy, or maintains its lawfulness.
Polygamize Po·lyg"a·mize intransitive verb To practice polygamy; to marry several wives. Sylvester. Coleridge.
Polygamous Po·lyg"a·mous adjective [ Greek ... living ... polygamy;
poly`s many + ... marriage. Confer
Bigamy .]
1. Of or pertaining to polygamy; characterized by, or involving, polygamy; having a plurality of wives; as, polygamous marriages; -- opposed to monogamous . 2. (Zoology) Pairing with more than one female. Most deer, cattle, and sheep are polygamous .
Darwin. 3. (Botany) Belonging to the Polygamia; bearing both hermaphrodite and unisexual flowers on the same plant.
Polygamy Po·lyg"a·my noun [ Greek ...; confer French
polygamie .]
1. The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time; -- opposed to monogamy ; as, the nations of the East practiced polygamy . See the Note under Bigamy , and confer Polyandry . 2. (Zoology) The state or habit of having more than one mate. 3. (Botany) The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.
Polygastrian Pol`y·gas"tri·an (pŏl`ĭ*găs"trĭ*
a n)
noun (Zoology) One of the Polygastrica. [ Obsolete]
Polygastric Pol`y·gas"tric (-trĭk)
adjective [
Poly- +
gastric : confer French
polygastrique .]
1. (Anat.) Having several bellies; -- applied to muscles which are made up of several bellies separated by short tendons. 2. (Zoology) Pertaining to the Polygastrica. [ Obsolete]
Polygastric Pol`y·gas"tric (pŏl`ĭ*găs"trĭk)
noun (Zoology) One of the Polygastrica.
Polygastrica Pol`y·gas"tri·ca (-trĭ*kȧ)
noun plural [ New Latin So called because they were supposed to have several stomachs, or digestive cavities.]
(Zoology) The Infusoria. [ Obsolete]
Polygenesis Pol`y·gen"e·sis (-jĕn"e*sĭs),
Po*lyg"e*ny (po*lĭj"e*nȳ)
noun [
Poly- +
genesis , or root of Greek
gi`gnesqai to be born.]
(Biol.) The theory that living organisms originate in cells or embryos of different kinds, instead of coming from a single cell; -- opposed to monogenesis .
Polygenetic Pol`y·ge·net"ic adjective 1. Having many distinct sources; originating at various places or times. 2. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to polygenesis; polyphyletic. Polygenetic mountain range (Geol.) ,
one which is composite, or consists of two or more monogenetic ranges, each having had its own history of development. Dana.
Polygenic Pol`y·gen"ic (-jĕn"ĭk)
adjective (Biol.) Of or relating to polygeny; polygenetic.
Polygenism Po·lyg"e·nism (po*lĭj"e*nĭz'm)
noun [ Confer French
polygénisme .]
(Biol.) The doctrine that animals of the same species have sprung from more than one original pair.
Polygenist Po·lyg"e·nist (-nĭst)
noun (Biol.) One who maintains that animals of the same species have sprung from more than one original pair; -- opposed to monogenist .
Polygenous Po·lyg"e·nous adjective [
Poly- +
-genous : confer Greek ... of many families.]
Consisting of, or containing, many kinds; as, a polygenous mountain. Kirwan.
Polyglot Pol"y·glot adjective [ Greek
poly`glwttos many-tongued;
poly`s many +
glw^tta ,
glw^ssa , tongue, language: confer French
polyglotte .]
1. Containing, or made up, of, several languages; as, a polyglot lexicon, Bible. 2. Versed in, or speaking, many languages.
Polyglot Pol"y·glot noun 1. One who speaks several languages. [ R.] "A
polyglot , or good linguist."
Howell. 2. A book containing several versions of the same text, or containing the same subject matter in several languages; esp., the Scriptures in several languages. Enriched by the publication of polyglots .
Abp. Newcome.
Polyglottous Pol`y·glot"tous adjective [ See
Polyglot .]
Speaking many languages; polyglot. [ R.] "The
polyglottous tribes of America."
Max Müller.
Polygon Pol"y·gon noun [ Greek
poly`gwnos polygonal;
poly`s many +
gwni`a angle: confer French
polygone .]
(Geom.) A plane figure having many angles, and consequently many sides; esp., one whose perimeter consists of more than four sides; any figure having many angles. Polygon of forces (Mech.) ,
a polygonal figure, the sides of which, taken successively, represent, in length and direction, several forces acting simultaneously upon one point, so that the side necessary to complete the figure represents the resultant of those forces. Confer Parallelogram of forces , under Parallelogram .
Polygonaceous Pol`y·go·na"ceous adjective [ See
Polygonum .]
(Botany) Of or pertaining to a natural order of apetalous plants ( Polygonaceæ ), of which the knotweeds (species of Polygonum ) are the type, and which includes also the docks ( Rumex ), the buckwheat, rhubarb, sea grape ( Coccoloba ), and several other genera.
Polygonal Po·lyg"o·nal adjective Having many angles. Polygonal numbers ,
certain figurate numbers. See under Figurate .
Polygoneutic Pol`y·go·neu"tic adjective [
Poly- + Greek ... offspring.]
(Zoology) Having two or more broods in a season.
Polygonometry Pol`y·go·nom"e·try noun [
Polygon +
-metry .]
The doctrine of polygons; an extension of some of the principles of trigonometry to the case of polygons.
Polygonous Po·lyg"o·nous adjective Polygonal.
Polygonum Po·lyg"o·num noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a kind of plant;
poly`s many +
go`ny the knee, a joint of a plant. So called in allusion to the numerous joints.]
(Botany) A genus of plants embracing a large number of species, including bistort, knotweed, smartweed, etc.
Polygony Po·lyg"o·ny noun (Botany) Any plant of the genus Polygonum.
Polygordius Pol`y·gor"di·us noun [ New Latin See
Poly- , and
Gordius .]
(Zoology) A genus of marine annelids, believed to be an ancient or ancestral type. It is remarkable for its simplicity of structure and want of parapodia. It is the type of the order Archiannelida, or Gymnotoma. See Loeven's larva .
Polygram Pol"y·gram noun [ Greek ... marked with many stripes;
poly`s many + ... a line.]
A figure consisting of many lines. [ R.]
Barlow.
Polygraph Pol"y·graph noun [ Greek ... writing much;
poly`s much, many + ... to write: confer French
polygraphe .]
1. An instrument for multiplying copies of a writing; a manifold writer; a copying machine. 2. In bibliography, a collection of different works, either by one or several authors. Brande & C.
Polygraphic, Polygraphical Pol`y·graph"ic, Pol`y·graph"ic·al adjective [ Confer French
polygraphique .]
Pertaining to, or employed in, polygraphy; as, a polygraphic instrument. 2. Done with a polygraph; as, a polygraphic copy.
Polygraphy Po·lyg"ra·phy noun [ Greek ...;
poly`s much +
gra`fein to write: confer French
polygraphie .]
1. Much writing; writing of many books. [ Obsolete]
Fuller. 2. The art of writing in various ciphers, and of deciphering the same. [ R.]
3. The art or practice of using a polygraph.
Polygrooved Pol"y·grooved` adjective [
Poly- +
groove .]
Having many grooves; as, a polygrooved rifle or gun (referring to the rifling).
Polygyn Pol"y·gyn noun [ Confer French
polygyne . See
Polygyny .]
(Botany) A plant of the order Polygynia.
Polygynia Pol`y·gyn"i·a noun plural [ New Latin See
Polygyny .]
(Botany) A Linnæan order of plants having many styles.
Polygynian, Polygynous Pol`y·gyn"i·an, Po·lyg"y·nous adjective (Botany) Having many styles; belonging to the order Polygynia.
Polygynist Po·lyg"y·nist noun One who practices or advocates polygyny. H. Spenser.
Polygyny Po·lyg"y·ny noun [
Poly- + Greek ... woman, wife.]
The state or practice of having several wives at the same time; marriage to several wives. H. Spenser.
Polyhalite Pol`y·ha"lite noun [
Poly- + Greek ... salt.]
(Min.) A mineral usually occurring in fibrous masses, of a brick-red color, being tinged with iron, and consisting chiefly of the sulphates of lime, magnesia, and soda.
Polyhedral, Polyhedrical Pol`y·he"dral, Pol`y·hed"ric·al adjective [ See
Polyhedron .]
(Geom.) Having many sides, as a solid body. Polyhedral angle ,
an angle bounded by three or more plane angles having a common vertex.
Polyhedron Pol`y·he"dron noun ;
plural English
Polyhedrons . , Latin
Polyhedra . [ New Latin , from Greek ... with many seats or sides;
poly`s many + ... a seat or side: confer French
polyèdre .]
1. (Geom.) A body or solid contained by many sides or planes. 2. (Opt.) A polyscope, or multiplying glass.
Polyhedrous Pol`y·he"drous adjective Polyhedral.
Polyhistor Pol`y·his"tor noun [ Greek ... very learned.]
One versed in various learning. [ R.]
Polyhymnia Pol`y·hym"ni·a noun [ Latin , from Greek ...;
poly`s many + ... hymn.]
(Anc. Myth.) The Muse of lyric poetry.
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