Added 9 October 2026
pole
/pəʊl/ noun
In Latin: asser, pertica Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pole at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
- A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage.
- A type of basic fishing rod.
verb
-
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.
-
To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.
He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity.
-
To furnish with poles for support.
to pole beans or hops
noun
- Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.
- A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south).
-
Any of a small set of extremes; especially, either of two extremes that are possible or available.
In discussing alternatives to the polar extremes, Professor Nguyen mentioned two poles of a filthy floor versus a sterile surgical site.
verb
- To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles.
Origin
English poleFrom Middle English pole, pal, from Old English pāl (“a pole, stake, post; a kind of hoe or spade”), from Proto-West Germanic *pāl (“pole”), from Latin pālus (“stake, pale, prop, stay”), perhaps from Old Latin *paxlos, from Proto-Italic *pākslos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- (“to nail, fasten”). Doublet of peel, pale, and palus.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)