Pole

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pəʊl/

Definitions

  1. A long, slender, usually cylindrical object often used for support or to mark points ; either of the two points at the ends of Earth's axis, representing the northernmost or southernmost position ; a terminal or prong used to make electrical connections ; an individual who is a native or citizen of Poland
  2. An elongated rod or shaft typically used to hold things up or measure distance ; one of Earth's two extreme points around which it rotates, known as North or South ; a part of an electric device that connects circuits by contact ; a person belonging to the nation of Poland by birth or heritage
  3. A straight, narrow rod employed for physical tasks such as carrying or marking boundaries ; the top or bottom point on the planet's rotational axis, commonly called a pole ; a conductive part in an electrical apparatus used for making a circuit connection ; a human being identified as from Poland by ethnicity or citizenship

Etymology: "Pole" is really two words that happened to collide in English. The rod sense descends from Latin "palus," meaning stake or prop, which Old English borrowed as "pāl," a word that could mean a stake, post, or even a kind of spade. The same Latin root gave English "pale," the fence-stake sense that survives in "beyond the pale," and "peel," a doublet that once meant a spade-like tool. Cognates in German ("Pfahl"), Dutch ("paal") and Swedish ("påle") all share this ancient sense of a driven stake. The Earth's axis sense arrives from a different direction entirely. Ancient Greek "pólos" meant the axis around which the heavens turn, and it passed into Middle French as "pôle" before reaching English. So the North and South points on the globe trace back to a Greek word for a turning axle, not to any Latin stake. The electrical and national senses are later extensions. The Polish meaning is simply the nation's name, and the electrical terminal sense developed from the idea of a point or rod where a current connects.

Synonyms: staff, rod, stick, column

Antonyms: base