Pollyanna

See also: pollyanna

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpɒliˈænə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænə

Etymology 1

From Polly +‎ Anna.

Alternative forms

• Polly-Anna
• Polly Anna

Proper noun

Pollyanna

1. A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.
   • 2014, Dot and the Waves, page 10‎^[1]:

     Pollyanna Pocket was small, with long floppy ears and a tail that coiled upwards in a little ringlet. She was a bouncy, happy young dog, who frolicked all day

Etymology 2

From the name of the protagonist in the 1913 novel Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter.

Alternative forms

• pollyanna

Noun

Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)

1. One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.

   You call her an optimist, but I call her an obnoxious Pollyanna.

   • 1930, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin (lyrics and music), “But Not for Me”, performed by Ginger Rogers:

     I never wanna hear / From any cheerful Pollyannas / Who tell you Fate supplies a mate / It's all bananas

   • 2017 November 12, Miranda Sawyer, “Björk: ‘People miss the jokes. A lot of it is me taking the piss out of myself’”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     ‘Next time we’re going to have fun, OK?’ I wanted this album to go towards the light. You indulge in the grief to a certain point, but then you have to be a little bit Pollyanna.”

Derived terms

• Pollyanna creep
• Pollyannaish
• Pollyannish
• Pollyannaism

Translations

a persistently cheerful and optimistic person

• Esperanto: optimistaĉo
• French: Pollyanna
• Greek: Πολυάννα (el) (Polyánna)
• Turkish: Polyanna

See also

• IBM Pollyanna Principle
• Panglossian
• quixotic

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)

1. (colloquial, Mid-Atlantic US, Southeastern Pennsylvania) A secret Santa gift exchange.

Further reading

• Pollyanna on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Pollyanna on Wikisource.Wikisource
• Category:Pollyanna on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons