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A polymath (Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής, "having learned much")[1] is a person whose knowledge is not restricted to one subject area. The dictionary definition is consistent with informal use, whereby someone very knowledgeable is described as a polymath when the term is used as a noun, or polymath or polymathic when used as adjectives.
The terms Renaissance Man and (less commonly) Homo Universalis (which is Latin for "a universal man" or "man of the world") are related, and used to describe a person who is well educated, or who excels, in a wide variety of subjects or fields.[2] This idea developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–72): that “a man can do all things if he will”. It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance Humanism, which considered man the centre of the universe, limitless in his capacities for development, and led to the notion that men should try to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted men of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts.