I am looking for an English word or expression to describe a person who has high level of knowledge in common topics such as literature, history, geography, art, classical music… that typically can be obtained by attending prestigious schools and reading lots of books. In other words to describe a person who could be very good at quiz shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". My local language has a word for this and curious how I could say it in English.
I find knowledge or education not "strong" enough, my dictionary says erudition but I don't see it in vernacular context/texts. I personally see intelligence has a rather different meaning or at least I'd use it only in math/physics context to describe a person.
Best Answer
You could describe such a person as a polymath. This is The Cambridge Dictionary definition.
From your own research you could also say that they were erudite, but the same dictionary defines this as someone having more specialised, detailed knowledge rather than wide general knowledge..