Pollyanna
See also: pollyanna
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Alternative forms edit
Proper noun edit
Pollyanna
- 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 edit
From the name of the protagonist in the 1913 novel Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter.
Alternative forms edit
Noun edit
Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)
- 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 edit
Translations edit
a persistently cheerful and optimistic person
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See also edit
Etymology 3 edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)
- (colloquial, Mid-Atlantic US, Southeastern Pennsylvania) A secret Santa gift exchange.
Further reading edit
- Pollyanna on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Pollyanna on Wikisource.Wikisource
- Category:Pollyanna on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons