[1820–30; poly- + -sepalous]This word is first recorded in the period 1820–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blouse, boomerang, exogenous, myth, tetrapodpoly- is a combining form with the meanings “much, many” and, in chemistry, “polymeric,”used in the formation of compound words. Other words that use the affix poly- include: polyandrous, polyculture, polyethylene