Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

poly-

/ˈpɑ.li-/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.64 in modern English

Syllables
pol-y
IPA
/ˈpɑ.li-/
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

many

prefix

polymer

prefix

polyamory

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor. English poly- Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús (“much, many”). Unrelated to -poly.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɑ.li-/
  • British English: /ˈpɒl.i-/

Derived Forms

poly polyabolo polyacetal polyache polyadelph polyadelphia polyadelphian polyadelphite polyadelphous polyadenous polyadenylate polyadenylation

Phrases

polydeoxy- polydeoxyribo- polymorpho- polyribo-

Frequently Paired Words

bi- di- tri- etc oligo- pauci-

Synonyms

multi- pleo- pleio-

Antonyms

mono- uni-

Questions

How do you pronounce poly-?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɑ.li-/.
What does poly- mean?
many
Where does poly- come from?
It is traced to Proto-Indo-European.

How to pronounce poly-

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “poly-”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɑ.li-/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “poly-”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “poly-” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.