pole.
Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
Meaning & usage
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.
A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used.
A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife.
A unit of length, equal to a rod (¹⁄₄ chain or 5+¹⁄₂ yards).
Ellipsis of pole position.
A rifle.
A penis.
A wicket, especially in the context of the number of wickets taken by a particular bowler.
Only three cricketers have taken all 10 poles in a Test innings.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-slos Proto-Italic *pākslos Latin pālusbor. Proto-West Germanic *pālu Proto-West Germanic *pāl Old English pāl Middle English pole 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. Cognates Cognate with Scots pale, paill (“stake, pale”), North Frisian pul, pil (“stake, pale”), Saterland Frisian Pool (“pole”), West Frisian poal (“pole”), Dutch paal (“pole”), German Pfahl (“pile, stake, post, pole”), Danish pæl (“pole”), Swedish påle (“pole”), Icelandic páll (“hoe, spade, pale”), Old English fæc (“space of time, while, division, interval; lustrum”).
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
To convey on poles.
to pole hay into a barn
To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.
To strike (the ball) very hard.
To treat (copper) by blowing natural gas or other reducing agent through the molten oxide, burning off the oxygen.
to pole copper
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-slos Proto-Italic *pākslos Latin pālusbor. Proto-West Germanic *pālu Proto-West Germanic *pāl Old English pāl Middle English pole 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. Cognates Cognate with Scots pale, paill (“stake, pale”), North Frisian pul, pil (“stake, pale”), Saterland Frisian Pool (“pole”), West Frisian poal (“pole”), Dutch paal (“pole”), German Pfahl (“pile, stake, post, pole”), Danish pæl (“pole”), Swedish påle (“pole”), Icelandic páll (“hoe, spade, pale”), Old English fæc (“space of time, while, division, interval; lustrum”).
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.
A fixed point relative to other points or lines.
A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves.
For a meromorphic function f(z), any point a for which f(z)→∞ as z→a.
The function f(z)#61;#92;frac#123;1#125;#123;z-3#125; has a single pole at z#61;3.
The firmament; the sky.
Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder.
Where this word comes from
From Middle French pole, pôle, from Latin polus, from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos, “axis of rotation”).
To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles.
Where this word comes from
From Middle French pole, pôle, from Latin polus, from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos, “axis of rotation”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.