pōˈlarəd.ē, pəˈ-, -ətē, -i also -ler- noun
( -es )
Etymology: polar + -ity
: the quality or state of being polar: as
a. : the quality or condition inherent in a body that exhibits opposite properties or powers in opposite parts or directions or that exhibits contrasted properties or powers in contrasted parts or directions : the having of poles — compare magnet
b. : direction or attraction (as of inclination, feeling, or thought) toward a particular object : tendency or trend in a specific direction
c. : the particular either positive or negative state (as of a body) with reference to the two poles or to electrification
d.
(1) : the observed axial differentiation of an organism or tissue into parts with distinctive properties or form (as head and tail or shoot and root)
(2) : the underlying structural orientation held to account for orderly regeneration of lost parts of normal type in proper axial relation to the body as a whole (as in the growth of roots from the base of a cutting or the growth of a head at the anterior end of a planaria fragment) — compare gradient concept
e.
(1) : the principle, property, or condition of diametrical opposition (as in nature, tendency, or action)
a cabinet system … produces a certain polarity in a nation — Ernest Barker
the acute polarity between extreme passion and extreme control — Gilbert Highet
(2) : an instance or case of such a relationship : something that is or is held to be diametrically opposite from something else
f.
(1) : the relationship existing between two apparently opposed objects that nevertheless involve each other usually by being dependent upon a mutual factor (as day and night or birth and death) — compare dialectic 2b
(2) : an instance or case of such a relationship