Meanings
plural polygonums · plural polygona
- biologyAny of many plants, of the family Polygonaceae, embracing a large number of species, including bistort, knotweed, smartweed, etc.
Near-synonym: polygony
Synonyms: polygony
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of many plants, of the family Polygonaceae, embracing a large number of species, including bistort, knotweed, smartweed, etc.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπολύγονον“knotweed”
- translingualPolygonum
- Englishpolygonum
From translingual Polygonum, from Ancient Greek πολύγονον (polúgonon, “knotweed”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + γόνυ (gónu, “knee”), so called in allusion to the numerous joints, or neuter of πολύγονος (polúgonos, “prolific”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + γόνος (gónos, “offspring”). If the former of those two hypotheses is true, then the word would be related to polygon (from γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), a derivative of γόνυ (gónu)).
More words from translingual, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech truskavec
- truskavecany plant in the genus Polygonum
German Vogelknöteriche
- Vogelknötericheany plant in the genus Polygonum
Lithuanian rūgtis
- rūgtisany plant in the genus Polygonum
Polish rdest
- rdestany plant in the genus Polygonum
Ukrainian гірчак
- гірчак (hirčak)any plant in the genus Polygonum
Cite this entry
polygonum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygonum
“polygonum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygonum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polygonum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygonum.
Source: polygonum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.