polü

Polü is an Estonian prefix meaning "many" or "much" and is used to form compound words by attaching to stems. It corresponds to the Greek-derived prefix poly- and is written with the Estonian umlaut ü as polü. The prefix is productive in scientific, technical, and academic vocabulary, as well as in everyday language, where it signals multiplicity or abundance.

Etymology and orthography: Polü originates in Greek poly- and entered Estonian through European scientific terminology. It is treated as a bound morpheme, joining directly to the base without a space or hyphen in most standard forms (for example, polümeer, polüglott, polütsükliline).

Usage: In chemistry, polü is used to denote polymers (polümeer). In linguistics and education, it appears in terms describing multilingual or polyfunctional concepts (polüglott, polüfunktsionaalne). In biology, geology, and mathematics, it helps form descriptors such as polycyclic or polymorphic-like terms, broadening the descriptive vocabulary for complex structures or systems.

Examples: polümeer (polymer); polüglott (polyglot); polüfunktsionaalne (polyfunctional); polütsükliline ühend (polycyclic compound). These examples illustrate how polü can prefix a wide range of bases to convey multiplicity, complexity, or extensive scope.

See also: poly- prefix; Estonian vocabulary for scientific terminology; examples of Estonian affixation in compound words.