pole

See also: Pole, pôle, and -pole

Contents

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pəʊl/, /pɔʊl/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /poʊl/
  • IPA^(key): [pʰoʊ̯ɫ], [pʰoəɫ]
• (US)

  (file)

  IPA^(key): [pʰoʊ̯ɫ]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pɔːl/
• Rhymes: -əʊl
• Homophones: Pole, poll

Etymology 1

From Middle English pole, pal, from Old English pāl (“a pole, stake, post; a kind of hoe or spade”), from Proto-Germanic *palaz, *pālaz (“pole”), from Latin pālus (“stake, pale, prop, stay”) from Old Latin *paglus, from Proto-Indo-European *pāǵe- (“to nail, fasten”).

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”).

Noun

pole (plural poles)

1. Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.

2. (fishing) A type of basic fishing rod.
3. A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used.
4. (slang, spotting) A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife.
5. (historical) A unit of length, equal to a perch (¼ chain or 5½ yards).
6. (motor racing) Pole position.
7. (US, rap music, slang) A gun.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:stick
• (unit of length): rod

Derived terms

• flagpole
• maypole
• over-the-pole
• poleaxe
• tentpole

 

Related terms

• pole vault

Translations

long and slender object for construction or support

• Albanian: shtagë (sq) f
• Armenian: ձող (hy) (joł)
• Basque: haga
• Catalan: pal
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 杆子 (zh) (gānzi)

• Czech: kůl m, tyč (cs) f
• Danish: pæl c
• Dutch: boom (nl), paal (nl)
• Esperanto: stango
• Finnish: paalu (fi), pylväs (fi), salko (fi), tanko (fi), seiväs (fi), sauva (fi)
• French: perche (fr) f
• Friulian: pâl m
• Gallurese: stantagliu
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Stab (de) m, Stange (de) f
• Greek: κοντάρι (el) n (kontári)

  Ancient: κοντός m (kontós)

• Hebrew: מוֹט‎ (he) m (mot), כְּלוֹנָס‎ (he) m (klonas)
• Hungarian: rúd (hu), dorong (hu), pálca (hu)
• Irish: cuaille m
• Italian: palo (it) m, asta (it) f, pertica (it) f
• Japanese: 棒 (ja) (ぼう, bō), 竿 (ja) (さお, sao)
• Latin: asser m
• Malay: galah, tiang

• Maori: turupou, panoho (for propelling a boat)
• Mongolian: багана (mn) (bagana)
• Norwegian: stav m, stokk (no) m

  Bokmål: stolpe m

  Nynorsk: stolpe m

• Persian: تیرک‎ (fa) (tirak), پالار‎ (fa) (pâlâr)
• Polish: pręt (pl) m, drąg (pl) m
• Portuguese: vara (pt) f
• Romanian: par (ro), stâlp (ro) m, drug (ro) m, f
• Russian: жердь (ru) f (žerdʹ), шест (ru) m (šest)
• Sardinian: palu, pau

  Logudorese: albaranu, longupànte

• Sassarese: asta
• Scottish Gaelic: cabar m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мо̏тка f

  Roman: mȍtka (sh) f

• Sicilian: palu (scn) m
• Slovene: drog (sl) m, palica (sl) f
• Spanish: palo (es) m, garrocha (es) f, vara (es) f
• Swahili: mlingoti (sw)
• Swedish: stav (sv)
• Telugu: గడ కర్ర (gaḍa karra)
• Turkish: kutup (tr)
• Venetian: pało, pal

type of fishing rod

• Finnish: vapa (fi)
• Italian: canna (it), canna da pesca
• Norwegian: trøe f

• Polish: wędzisko n
• Portuguese: caniço (pt) m
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can

implement for pole-vaulting

• Finnish: seiväs (fi)

telescope

• Finnish: putki (fi)

unit of length

• Czech: prut (cs) m (approx. 5m)
• French: perche (fr) f

• Italian: pertica (it) f
• Polish: pręt (pl) m

motor racing: pole position — See also translations at pole position

• Finnish: paalu (fi)

Verb

pole (third-person singular simple present poles, present participle poling, simple past and past participle poled)

1. 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.

2. To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.

   He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity.

3. (transitive) To furnish with poles for support.

   to pole beans or hops

4. (transitive) To convey on poles.

   to pole hay into a barn

5. (transitive) To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.

Translations

propel by pushing with poles

• Finnish: sauvoa (fi)

• Portuguese: varear

Etymology 2

From Middle French pole, pôle, and its source, Latin polus, from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos, “axis of rotation”).

Noun

pole (plural poles)

1. Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.
2. A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south).
3. (geometry) A fixed point relative to other points or lines.
4. (electricity) A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves.
5. (complex analysis) For a meromorphic function $f(z)$, any point $a$ for which $f(z)\rightarrow \infty$ as $z\rightarrow a$.

   The function $f(z)={\frac {1}{z-3}}$ has a single pole at $z=3$

   .

6. (obsolete) The firmament; the sky.
   • 1634, John Milton, Comus, 1817, Paradise Regained... To which is added a complete collection of his miscellaneous poems, page 211,

     And the slope sun his upward beam / Shoots against the dusky pole,

7. Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder.

Antonyms

• (complex analysis): zero

Derived terms

terms derived from pole (Etymology 2)

• dipole
• hexadecapole
• hexapole
• monopole
• multipole
• north pole
• octupole

• polar
• polarity
• poles apart
• polestar, pole star
• quadrupole
• south pole
• tripole

Translations

extreme of an axis

• Arabic: قُطْب‎ m (quṭb)
• Armenian: բևեռ (beweṙ)
• Belarusian: по́люс m (póljus)
• Bulgarian: по́люс (bg) m (póljus)
• Catalan: pol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極 (zh), 极 (zh) (jí)

• Czech: pól (cs) m
• Danish: pol
• Dutch: pool (nl)
• Esperanto: poluso
• Finnish: napa (fi)
• French: pôle (fr)
• Galician: polo (gl) m
• German: Pol (de) m
• Greek: πόλος (el) m (pólos)
• Icelandic: póll (is) m
• Irish: pol m

• Japanese: 極 (ja) (きょく, kyoku)
• Korean: 극 (ko) (geuk)
• Malay: kutub
• Maori: pito, tōpito
• Norwegian: pol
• Occitan: pòl (oc) m
• Polish: biegun (pl) m
• Portuguese: polo (pt) m, extremidade (pt) f
• Romanian: pol (ro) m
• Russian: по́люс (ru) m (póljus)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̑л m

  Roman: pȏl (sh) m

• Spanish: polo (es) m
• Swedish: pol (sv)
• Turkish: kutup (tr)
• Ukrainian: по́люс m (póljus)

magnetic point

• Armenian: բևեռ (beweṙ)
• Belarusian: по́люс m (póljus)
• Bulgarian: по́люс (bg) m (póljus)
• Catalan: pol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極 (zh), 极 (zh) (jí)

• Czech: pól (cs) m
• Danish: pol
• Dutch: pool (nl)
• Finnish: napa (fi)
• French: pôle (fr)
• Galician: polo (gl) m
• German: Pol (de) m
• Greek: πόλος (el) m (pólos)
• Icelandic: póll (is) m
• Irish: pol m
• Italian: polo (it) m

• Japanese: 極 (ja) (きょく, kyoku)
• Korean: 극 (ko) (geuk)
• Malay: kutub
• Norwegian: pol
• Occitan: pòl (oc) m
• Polish: biegun (pl) m
• Portuguese: polo (pt) m
• Russian: по́люс (ru) m (póljus)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̑л m

  Roman: pȏl (sh) m

• Spanish: polo (es) m
• Swedish: pol (sv)
• Tagalog: taluktok
• Ukrainian: по́люс m (póljus)
• Veps: naba

contact on an electrical device

• Czech: pól (cs) m
• Galician: polo (gl) m
• Irish: pol m
• Italian: polo (it) m
• Japanese: 極 (ja) (kyoku)

• Polish: biegun (pl) m
• Portuguese: polo (pt) m
• Russian: по́люс (ru) (póljus)
• Spanish: polo (es) m

isolated point of a meromorphic function (complex analysis)

• Czech: pól (cs) m
• Galician: polo (gl) m
• Japanese: 極 (ja) (kyoku)
• Polish: biegun (pl) m

• Portuguese: polo (pt) m
• Russian: по́люс (ru) m (póljus)
• Spanish: polo (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} პოლუსი (ṗolusi), ^{(please verify)} ჭოკი (č̣oḳi)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} sark (hu)

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} polo (it) m
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} ధృవం (te) (dhr̥vaṃ)

Verb

pole (third-person singular simple present poles, present participle poling, simple past and past participle poled)

1. (transitive) To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles.

Anagrams

• LEPO, lope, olpe, pleo-

---

Aiwoo

Verb

pole

1. to work (in a garden or field)

References

• Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

---

Alemannic German

Etymology

From Middle High German boln.

Verb

pole

1. (Uri) to make noise, clatter, rumble

References

• “pole” in Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & co., page 35.

---

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpolɛ]

• audio

  (file)

Noun

pole n

1. (agriculture) field
2. (physics) field
3. (algebra) field
4. (computing) field
5. (programming) array

Declension

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	pole	pole
genitive	pole	polí
dative	poli	polím
accusative	pole	pole
vocative	pole	pole
locative	poli	polích
instrumental	polem	poli

Synonyms

• komutativní těleso n (algebra)

Further reading

• pole in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pole in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

---

Esperanto

Adverb

pole

1. in Polish

---

Estonian

Etymology

Contraction of ep ole (Modern: ei ole). ep is the old 3rd person singular form of the negative verb.

Verb

pole

1. Alternative form of ei ole

---

Galician

Etymology 1

From Latin pollen.

Noun

pole m (plural poles)

1. pollen
2. (motor racing) Pole position.

Synonyms

• primeira posición

Etymology 2

See pulir.

Verb

pole

1. Third-person singular (el, ela, vostede^?) present indicative of pulir

---

Latin

Noun

pole

1. vocative singular of polus

References

• pole in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• pole in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

---

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *pȍlje.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.lɛ/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

pole n (diminutive poletko)

1. field (land area; wide open space)
2. (regional, singular only) outside
3. (geometry) area
4. (physics) field

Declension

declension of pole

	singular	plural
nominative	pole	pola
genitive	pola	pól
dative	polu	polom
accusative	pole	pola
instrumental	polem	polami
locative	polu	polach
vocative	pole	pola

Derived terms

• pole namiotowe
• szukać wiatru w polu

Further reading

• pole in Polish dictionaries at PWN

---

Spanish

Noun

pole m (plural poles)

1. (motor racing) Pole position.

Synonyms

• primera posición

Verb

pole

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of polir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of polir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of polir.

---

Swahili

Adverb

pole

1. sorry

Adjective

pole

1. slow (not quick in motion)

Inflection

Inflected forms of -pole

Noun class	singular	plural
M-wa class	mpole	wapole
M-mi class	mpole	mipole
Ma class	pole	mapole
Ki-vi class	kipole	vipole
N class	pole	pole
U class	mpole	pole
Pa class	papole	papole
Ku class	kupole	kupole
Mu class	mupole	mupole