English
hexadecapolar
From hexadeca- + polar.
Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
Proto-Hellenic *dékə ‘ten’
Ancient Greek δέκᾰ ‘ten’
Ancient Greek δεκάς ‘the number ten’
Late Latin decas
English hexadeca-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-
…
Proto-Hellenic *pólos
Ancient Greek πόλος ‘pivot, hinge, axis, pole’
Latin polus ‘pole’
Late Latin polāris ‘of or pertaining to the poles’
English polar
Today it means
adj Having sixteen poles (usually four sets of quadrupoles)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / hexadecapolar