Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Pole

Pole

,
Noun.
[Cf. G.
Pole
a Pole,
Polen
Poland.]
A native or inhabitant of Poland; a Polander.

Pole

,
Noun.
[As.
pāl
, L.
palus
, akin to
pangere
to make fast. Cf.
Pale
a stake,
Pact
.]
1.
A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been removed;
as, specifically:
(a)
A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which the carriage is guided and held back
.
(b)
A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported.
(c)
A Maypole. See
Maypole
.
(d)
A barber’s pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a sign by barbers and hairdressers.
(e)
A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines, are trained.
2.
A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5[GREEK] yards, or a square measure equal to 30[GREEK] square yards; a rod; a perch.
Bacon.
Pole bean
(Bot.)
,
any kind of bean which is customarily trained on poles, as the scarlet runner or the Lima bean.
–
Pole flounder
(Zool.)
,
a large deep-water flounder (
Glyptocephalus cynoglossus
), native of the northern coasts of Europe and America, and much esteemed as a food fish; – called also
craig flounder
, and
pole fluke
.
–
Pole lathe
,
a simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle, and the other to an elastic pole above.
–
Pole mast
(Naut.)
,
a mast formed from a single piece or from a single tree.
–
Pole of a lens
(Opt.)
,
the point where the principal axis meets the surface.
–
Pole plate
(Arch.)
,
a horizontal timber resting on the tiebeams of a roof and receiving the ends of the rafters. It differs from the plate in not resting on the wall.

Pole

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Poled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Poling
.]
1.
To furnish with poles for support;
as, to
pole
beans or hops
.
2.
To convey on poles;
as, to
pole
hay into a barn
.
3.
To impel by a pole or poles, as a boat.
4.
To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.

Pole

,
Noun.
[L.
polus
, Gr. [GREEK] a pivot or hinge on which anything turns, an axis, a pole; akin to [GREEK] to move: cf. F.
pôle
.]
1.
Either extremity of an axis of a sphere; especially, one of the extremities of the earth's axis;
as, the north
pole
.
2.
(Spherics)
A point upon the surface of a sphere equally distant from every part of the circumference of a great circle; or the point in which a diameter of the sphere perpendicular to the plane of such circle meets the surface. Such a point is called the pole of that circle;
as, the
pole
of the horizon; the
pole
of the ecliptic; the
pole
of a given meridian.
3.
(Physics)
One of the opposite or contrasted parts or directions in which a polar force is manifested; a point of maximum intensity of a force which has two such points, or which has polarity;
as, the
poles
of a magnet; the north
pole
of a needle.
4.
The firmament; the sky.
[Poetic]
Shoots against the dusky
pole
.
Milton.
5.
(Geom.)
See
Polarity
, and
Polar
,
Noun.
Magnetic pole
.
See under
Magnetic
.
–
Poles of the earth
, or
Terrestrial poles
(Geog.)
,
the two opposite points on the earth's surface through which its axis passes.
–
Poles of the heavens
, or
Celestial poles
,
the two opposite points in the celestial sphere which coincide with the earth's axis produced, and about which the heavens appear to revolve.

Webster 1828 Edition

Pole

POLE

,
Noun.
[L. palus. See Pale.]
1.
A long slender piece of wood, or the stem of a small tree deprived of its branches. Thus seamen use poles for setting or driving boats in shallow water; the stems of small trees are used for hoops and called hoop-poles; the stems of small, but tall straight trees, are used as poles for supporting the scaffolding in building.
2.
A rod; a perch; a measure of length of five yards and a half.
[In New England, rod is generally used.]
3.
An instrument for measuring.
Bare poles. A ship is under bare poles, when her sails are all furled.

POLE

,
Noun.
[L. polus; Gr. to turn.]
1.
In astronomy, one of the extremities of the axis on which the sphere revolves. These two points are called the poles of the world.
2.
In spherics, a point equally distant from every part of the circumference of a great circle of the sphere; or it is a point 90 deg. distant from the plane of a circle, and in a line passing perpendicularly through the center, called the axis. Thus the zenith and nadir are the poles of the horizon.
3.
In geography, the extremity of the earth's axis, or one of the points on the surface of our globe through which the axis passes.
4.
The star which is vertical to the pole of the earth; the pole-star.
Poles of the ecliptic, are two points on the surface of the sphere, 23 deg. 30' distant from the poles of the world.
Magnetic poles, two points in a lodestone, corresponding to the poles of the world; the one pointing to the north, the other to the south.

POLE

,
Noun.
[from Poland.] A native of Poland.

POLE

,
Verb.
T.
To furnish with poles for support; as, to pole beans.
1.
To bear or convey on poles; as, to pole hay into a barn.
2.
To impel by poles, as a boat; to push forward by the use of poles.

Definition 2024

Pole

Pole

See also: pole, pôle, and -pole

English

Noun

Pole ‎(plural Poles) (or Polish)

  1. A person from Poland or of Polish descent.

Translations

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -oːlə

Noun

Pole m ‎(genitive Polen, plural Polen, feminine Polin)

  1. Pole

Declension

Noun

Pole

  1. plural of Pol

pole

pole

See also: Pole, pôle, and -pole

English

Noun

pole ‎(plural poles)

  1. Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.
  2. (fishing) A type of basic fishing rod.
  3. A long fiberglass sports implement used for pole-vaulting.
  4. (slang, spotting) A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife.
  5. (historical) A unit of length, equal to a perch (¼ chain or 5½ yards).
  6. (motor racing) Pole position.
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:stick
  • (unit of length): rod
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

pole ‎(third-person singular simple present poles, present participle poling, simple past and past participle poled)

  1. To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole.
    Huck Finn poled that raft southward down the Mississippi because going northward against the current was too much work.‎
  2. To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.
    He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity.‎
  3. (transitive) To furnish with poles for support.
    to pole beans or hops‎
  4. (transitive) To convey on poles.
    to pole hay into a barn‎
  5. (transitive) To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle French pole, pôle, and its source, Latin polus, from Ancient Greek πόλος ‎(pólos, “axis of rotation”).

Noun

pole ‎(plural poles)

  1. Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.
  2. A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south).
  3. (geometry) A fixed point relative to other points or lines.
  4. (electricity) A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves.
  5. (complex analysis) For a meromorphic function , any point for which as .
    The function has a single pole at ‎.
  6. (obsolete) The firmament; the sky.
    • 1634, John Milton, Comus, 1817, Paradise Regained... To which is added a complete collection of his miscellaneous poems, page 211,
      And the slope sun his upward beam / Shoots against the dusky pole,
  7. Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder.
Antonyms
  • (complex analysis): zero
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

pole ‎(third-person singular simple present poles, present participle poling, simple past and past participle poled)

  1. (transitive) To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles.

Anagrams

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

pole n

  1. (agriculture) field
  2. (physics) field
  3. (algebra) field
  4. (computing) field
  5. (programming) array

Declension

Synonyms

Esperanto

Adverb

pole

  1. in Polish

Estonian

Etymology

Contraction of ep ole (Modern: ei ole). ep is the old 3rd person singular form of the negative verb.

Verb

pole

  1. Alternative form of ei ole

Galician

Etymology 1

From Latin pollen.

Noun

pole m ‎(plural poles)

  1. pollen
  2. (auto racing) Pole position.
Synonyms

Etymology 2

See pulir.

Verb

pole

  1. Third-person singular (el, ela, vostede?) present indicative of pulir

Latin

Noun

pole

  1. vocative singular of polus

References

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *pȍlje.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɔlɛ/

Noun

pole n

  1. field (land area; wide open space)
  2. (regional, singular only) outside
  3. (geometry) area
  4. (physics) field

Declension

Derived terms

Spanish

Noun

pole m ‎(plural poles)

  1. (auto racing) Pole position.
Synonyms

Verb

pole

  1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of polir.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of polir.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of polir.

Swahili

Adverb

pole

  1. sorry

Adjective

pole

  1. slow (not quick in motion)


This Swahili entry was created from the translations listed at slow. It may be less reliable than other entries, and may be missing parts of speech or additional senses. Please also see pole in the Swahili Wiktionary. This notice will be removed when the entry is checked. (more information) July 2009

Etymology

From German Pole.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /pəʊl/, /pɔʊl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /poʊl/
  • Rhymes: -əʊl
  • Homophones: pole, poll

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