polycyclic

P3O1L1Y4C3Y4C3L1I1C3

adjective

Involving more than one cycle.

OriginEnglish cyclic ← Classical Latin cyclicus ← French cyclique →
UncommonScrabble 24
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Meanings

adjectivepolycyclic (not comparable)
  1. not comparableInvolving more than one cycle.
  2. not comparablechemistryHaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule.
  3. not comparablebiologyHaving the members of a series, such as a calyx or corolla, in several circles.
nounpolycyclic (plural polycyclics)

plural polycyclics

  1. A polycyclic compound.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
polycyclical

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kʷékʷlos
  7. Proto-Hellenic*kʷókʷlos
  8. Proto-Hellenic*kúklos
  9. Ancient Greekκύκλος (kúklos)
  10. Ancient Greekκυκλῐκός (kuklĭkós)
  11. Classical Latincyclicu
  12. Middle Frenchcyclique
  13. Frenchcyclique
  14. Classical Latincyclicus
  15. Englishcyclic
  16. Englishpolycyclic

From poly- + cyclic.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian полицикличен
  • полицикличен (policikličen)having two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Catalan policíclic
  • policíclichaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Chinese Mandarin 多環的 /多环的
  • 多環的 /多环的 (duōhuán de)having two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Finnish polysyklinen
  • polysyklinenhaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
French polycyclique
  • polycycliquehaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
German polycyclisch
  • polycyclischhaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Greek πολυκυκλικός
  • πολυκυκλικός (polykyklikós)having two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Hungarian policiklusos
  • policiklusoshaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Italian policiclico
  • policiclicohaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Polish policykliczny, wielopierścieniowy
  • policyklicznyhaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
  • wielopierścieniowyhaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Russian полицикли́ческий
  • полицикли́ческий (policiklíčeskij)having two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Spanish policíclico
  • policíclicohaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Turkish polisiklik
  • polisiklikhaving two or more rings of atoms in the molecule
Cite this entry
APA

polycyclic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polycyclic

MLA

“polycyclic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polycyclic. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polycyclic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polycyclic.

Source: polycyclic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.