'polycephalic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'poluképhalos' (πολυκέφαλος), where 'poly-' meant 'many' and 'kephalē' meant 'head'.

'polycephalic' changed from the Greek compound into New/Modern Latin forms such as 'polycephalus' and was then borrowed into English as 'polycephalic'.

Initially, it meant 'having many heads' in a literal sense; over time the term has retained that literal meaning and has also been used figuratively to mean 'having multiple centers of authority'.