polyhedron

/ˌpɒˌliˈhidɹən/po-lee-HEE-druhn

/ˌpɑˌliˈhidɹən/pah-lee-HEE-druhn

Meaningmany sides

Common meaning: a solid with many flat faces

polymuch; manyLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 658 · scan
hedra seat; a base, sideLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 224 · scan
onnoun ending (from Latin -o, -onis)

‘much’ + ‘a seat’ → polyhedron

Journey through time

poly — Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) “much; many” (path traced)
hedr — Greek ἕδρα “a seat; a base, side” (path traced)

Greekπολύς (polús) + ἕδρα‘much + a seat’
Englishpolyhedron‘a solid with many flat faces’ · today

poly also in: polygon polygamy polyglot polymath polygraph

hedr also in: chair cathedral tetrahedron

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) ‘much; many’ + Greek ἕδρα ‘a seat; a base, side’.

Did you know (Greek polys, "many",…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry πολύς (polús), p. 658 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek hedra, a…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry ἕδρα, p. 224 · dictionary scan

Roots

πολύς (polús) Ancient Greek “much; many”
ἕδρα Greek “a seat; a base, side”

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