We generalize both the notion of polynomial functions on Lie groups and the notion of horizontally affine maps on Carnot groups. We fix a subset S of the algebra {mathfrak {g}} of left-invariant vector fields on a Lie group {mathbb {G}} and we assume that S Lie generates {mathfrak {g}}. We say that a function f:{mathbb {G}}rightarrow {mathbb {R}} (or more generally a distribution on {mathbb {G}}) is S-polynomial if for all Xin S there exists kin {mathbb {N}} such that the iterated derivative X^k f is zero in the sense of distributions. First, we show that all S-polynomial functions (as well as distributions) are represented by analytic functions and, if the exponent k in the previous definition is independent on Xin S, they form a finite-dimensional vector space. Second, if {mathbb {G}} is connected and nilpotent, we show that S-polynomial functions are polynomial functions in the sense of Leibman. The same result may not be true for non-nilpotent groups. Finally, we show that in connected nilpotent Lie groups, being polynomial in the sense of Leibman, being a polynomial in exponential chart, and the vanishing of mixed derivatives of some fixed degree along directions of {mathfrak {g}} are equivalent notions.