Polymath
![Leonardo da Vinci, a polymath of the Renaissance era.](/Images/godic/202502/03/Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_presumed_self-portrait_-_WGA127985528.jpg")
![Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī was a notable Persian polymath.](/Images/godic/202502/03/Biruni-russian5528.jpg")
![Galileo was one of the most influential polymaths.](/Images/godic/202502/03/Galileo_by_leoni5528.jpg")
![Medieval German polymath Hildegard of Bingen, shown dictating to her scribe in an illumination from Liber Scivias](/Images/godic/202502/03/Hildegard_von_Bingen5529.jpg")
A polymath (Greek:πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much") is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas; such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. The term was first used in the 17th century; the related term, polyhistor, is an ancient term with similar meaning.