poly- +

1. The combination of many like or unlike molecules to form a more complex product of higher molecular weight, with elimination of water, alcohol, etc. (condensation polymerization), or without such elimination (addition polymerization).
2. In chemistry, the process of changing the molecular arrangement of a compound so as to form new compounds having the same percentage composition as the original, but of different (usually greater) molecular weight and different properties.

The method may be linear, by the successive addition of small structural units to form a chain; cyclic, by the formation of rings; or cross-linked, by a three-dimensional fusion of either linear or cyclic elements.

Referring to a lake having no persistent thermal stratification which is continually circulating with only brief periods of stability.

A nociceptor (a nerve ending that responds selectively to painful stimuli, causing the sensation of pain) activated by heat, mechanical pressure, or chemical mediators of inflammation; released as a result of tissue injury.

An animal or plant that has several different adult forms.

1. A reference to something occurring in several or many forms.
2. Relating to what appears in different forms at different stages of development.

In computer technology, referring to a computer system in which major parts or units are held in a common pool, assigned to executing programs based on need, and returned to the pool when they are no longer needed.

1. In zoology, the characteristics of assuming or passing through several forms, as an animal exhibiting seasonal changes in coloration.
2. In mineralogy, the occurrence in a mineral of two or more distinct crystal forms of identical chemical composition.

Myalgia (muscle pain) affecting several muscles or muscle groups simultaneously.

Disease affecting several muscles simultaneously.

A combination of a number of stories in one narrative or dramatic work.

The inclusion of many, or several stories or plots, into one narrative of dramatic work.

One of three major divisions of the Pacific Islands, encompassing a number of island groups in the central and southern Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.

1. Someone who comes from an island of the central or southern Pacific.
2. A group of Austronesian languages, including Fijian, Hawaiian, and Maori, spoken on islands of the central and southern Pacific.

Neuralgia (acute spasmodic pain) of several nerves simultaneously.

Neuritis (inflammation of a nerve accompanied by pain and sometimes loss of function) involving several nerves simultaneously.