polysynthetic

poly- +‎ synthetic

• enPR: pŏlēsĭnthĕt'ĭk, IPA^(key): /ˌpɒlisɪnˈθɛtɪk/

polysynthetic (comparative more polysynthetic, superlative most polysynthetic)

1. (grammar) said of a language, characterized by a prevalence of relatively long words containing a large number of morphemes. Typically, the morphemes are bound (i.e., they cannot stand alone as independent words). An example of a polysynthetic language is Ojibwe, where:

   • baataanitaaanishinaabemong = "being able to speak Ojibwe."
   • ngiinitaaozhibii'amaadimin = "we used to write to each other."

2. (mineralogy) Having layers of twin crystals

• oligosynthetic
• polysynthesis
• polysynthesism
• synthetic

• agglutinative
• analytic
• fusional
• incorporating
• inflected
• isolating

• Wikipedia article on Polysynthetic language