Looking for the word

[Woods]

"lightheartedly"

Could this word be used to describe the actions of someone who mustshould have reacted much more seriously than they did, like for example a doctor taking important negative feedback from a patient without doing anything substantial about it, or is it mostly used for in more positive and cheerful contexts?

The latter. It implies gaiety and good humour. If you want to be neutral, you could say "lightly". If you want to be more negative, you could say "dismissively".

Thanks!

[Woods]

self-contained

Is this always neutral or positive or can it have a negative connotation (like this person doesn't appreciate or care about other people)? I'm looking for a something that means more like the latter.

[Linguaphile]

self-contained

Is this always neutral or positive or can it have a negative connotation (like this person doesn't appreciate or care about other people)? I'm looking for a something that means more like the latter.

For the negative meaning, I'd say "self-absorbed" or "self-centered".

[Woods]

self-contained

Is this always neutral or positive or can it have a negative connotation (like this person doesn't appreciate or care about other people)? I'm looking for a something that means more like the latter.

For the negative meaning, I'd say "self-absorbed" or "self-centered".

Hm, thanks! I see there's also self-interested - I guess that's the most negative of the ones mentioned so far?

There's also self-serving and a few other similar adjectives - good idea to look into those!

[linguoboy]

self-contained

Is this always neutral or positive or can it have a negative connotation (like this person doesn't appreciate or care about other people)? I'm looking for a something that means more like the latter.

For the negative meaning, I'd say "self-absorbed" or "self-centered".

Hm, thanks! I see there's also self-interested - I guess that's the most negative of the ones mentioned so far?

There's also self-serving and a few other similar adjectives - good idea to look into those!

"Self-serving" is generally applied to actions. I can't think of many instances of it being applied to people.

I actually think "self-interested" sounds pretty neutral. "Self-centred" is probably the most negative; it implies that everything one does is focused on their own needs and desires with very little consideration for anyone else. "Self-absorbed" has the implication that you don't notice other people but not that you're necessarily making a deliberate choice to ignore them.

[Woods]

I actually think "self-interested" sounds pretty neutral. "Self-centred" is probably the most negative; it implies that everything one does is focused on their own needs and desires with very little consideration for anyone else.

All right, then "self-centred" will it be - thank you!

[Woods]

Fancier in the sense of more glittering, more pleasing to the eye but not necessarily better in the substance - any ideas?

[Linguaphile]

Fancier in the sense of more glittering, more pleasing to the eye but not necessarily better in the substance - any ideas?

Depending on what you're describing, some possibilities are: showier, flashier, glitzier, blingier, more ostentatious, more extravagant, more flamboyant, with more bling. If the "fanciness" goes too far and is viewed as tasteless, there's also gaudier.

[Woods]

pentalingual, quinquelingual

Do you have a preference for one of those two terms and why?

And how would you continue if the number rises to 6-9?

[Linguaphile]

pentalingual, quinquelingual

Do you have a preference for one of those two terms and why?

Both are correct, but I use pentalingual myself because that's what I've heard more often (with the expectation that it's also likely to be what the person I'm communicating with has heard more often or will understand more readily).

And how would you continue if the number rises to 6-9?

6 - hexalingual
7 - septalingual/heptalingual
8 - octolingual
9 - nonolingual

In practice, none of the words beyond trilingual are all that commonly-used outside of linguistic circles, so it just depends on who your audience is. In common (non-linguistic/non-technical) usage anything beyond trilingual, or at times even anything beyond bilingual, is more often just referred to as "multilingual", sometimes "plurilingual", and if the number of languages needs to be specified, then "speaks six languages", "knows five languages," "is translated into eight languages" and so on.

[Woods]

pentalingual, quinquelingual

Do you have a preference for one of those two terms and why?

Both are correct, but I use pentalingual myself because that's what I've heard more often (with the expectation that it's also likely to be what the person I'm communicating with has heard more often or will understand more readily).

That's what I came up with too, but then I saw some people over the Internet don't like it and suggest quinquelingual instead.

I was also thinking that quinquelingual would be understood by fewer people, especially not ones that haven't studied a Romance language.

And how would you continue if the number rises to 6-9?

6 - hexalingual
7 - septalingual/heptalingual
8 - octolingual
9 - nonolingual

I was thinking octalingual for eight?

hepta for seven (would have never said septa)

and then nono sounds a bit off to mine ears too, but I don't have any suggestions to make instead. Maybe nona?

In practice, none of the words beyond trilingual are all that commonly-used outside of linguistic circles, so it just depends on who your audience is. In common (non-linguistic/non-technical) usage anything beyond trilingual, or at times even anything beyond bilingual, is more often just referred to as "multilingual", sometimes "plurilingual", and if the number of languages needs to be specified, then "speaks six languages", "knows five languages," "is translated into eight languages" and so on.

Yeah but you know, in a multilingual world we have to expand on our vocabulary

[Linguaphile]

I was thinking octalingual for eight?

hepta for seven (would have never said septa)

and then nono sounds a bit off to mine ears too, but I don't have any suggestions to make instead. Maybe nona?

This got me curious so I did a quick count based on Google hits. Not removing duplicates and all that, just going with what it tells me to begin with to get a rough count. Where there are multiple options this gives a rough sense of which of those options is more common, and by what margin, at least as used on the internet at the moment.
This is just for information's sake (not to make an argument in favor of or against using any of these words).

unilingual = 263,000 hits
monolingual = 12,900,000 hits
(combined = 13,163,000 hits)

bilingual = 358,000,000 hits

trilingual = 8,670,000 hits

quadrilingual = 92,800 hits
tetralingual = 1,830 hits
(combined = 94,630 hits)

quinquelingual = 2,360 hits
pentalingual = 10,400 hits
(combined = 12,760 hits)

septalingual = 608 hits
heptalingual = 716 hits
(combined = 1,324 hits)

octalingual = 423 hits
octolingual = 990 hits
(combined = 1,413 hits)

nonalingual = 394 hits
nonolingual = 299 hits
(combined = 693 hits)

also:
multilingual = 265,000,000 hits
plurilingual = 311,000 hits
polylingual = 58,700 hits

polyglot = 11,000,000 hits

monoglot = 76,800 hits

[Woods]

This got me curious so I did a quick count based on Google hits. (...)

I love "monoglot" - I didn't know there was such a word!*

I'm curious, how would we continue into the tens, hundreds and further on? Not only when talking about language, but it could come in handy when working with science.

*I guess biglot, triglot and so on would work as well?

[Linguaphile]

This got me curious so I did a quick count based on Google hits. (...)

I love "monoglot" - I didn't know there was such a word!*

I'm curious, how would we continue into the tens, hundreds and further on? Not only when talking about language, but it could come in handy when working with science.

According to Wikimedia's categories of Multilingual Signs, there are these:
undecalingual = having eleven languages
dodecalingual = having twelve languages
tredecalingual = having thirteen languages
quattuordecalingual = having fourteen languages
quindecalingual = having fifteen languages
sedecalingual = having sixteen languages
...
duovigintilingual = having twenty-two languages

For a few of these, Wikimedia's listing of categories of Multilingual Signs is the only place these words are used, so I'm not sure how legit that makes them.
In place of dodecalingual you can also say duodecalingual.
The prefixes are legit though, based on Latin. They are the same prefixes English uses for superlarge numbers, such as quattuordecillion (10⁴⁵) and duovigintillion (10⁶⁹).
Interestingly, Wikimedia's listing of categories for Multilingual Signs comes up with a couple we didn't mention yet: septilingual for seven languages, and novelingual for nine.
So I'll add their Google hits for comparison:
septilingual - 467 Google hits
septalingual - 603 Google hits (today; yesterday it was 608...)
heptalingual - 718 Google hits (today; yesterday: 716)

nonalingual - 386 (yesterday: 394)
nonolingual - 312 (yesterday: 299)
novelingual - 4 Google hits (half of which are from Wikimedia )

*I guess biglot, triglot and so on would work as well?

Yes.