I. ˈpōl noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English pol, polle, from Middle Low German, head, top; probably akin to Latin bulla bubble, Late Greek bylla stuffed things, Lithuanian bulis buttocks
1.
a. : head I 1
set his hat back on his poll — Bryan MacMahon
scratching his poll — C.G.Glover
b. obsolete : skull I 1
2. : a unit or an individual in a number
a tax of forty pounds … per poll to support the church — American Guide Series: Maryland
3.
a.
(1) : the hair-covered back and top of the human head
all flaxen was his poll — Skak.
close-cropped polls — T.B.Costain
(2) : the region between the ears of some quadrupeds — see cow illustration
b. obsolete : crown 3a(1)
c. : nape I
pierced his neck from throat to poll — Thomas Hobbes
4. : the broad or flat end of a hammer or similar tool
5.
a.
(1) : the casting or recording of the votes of a body of persons : the voting at an election
on the eve of the poll — Canadian Forum
(2) : a counting of votes cast (as in an election)
b. : the place where votes are cast or recorded — usually used in plural
at the polls, a voter … votes the ticket of his choice — F.A.Ogg & P.O.Ray
as the voter leaves the polls
c. : the period of time during which votes may be cast at an election
the poll at the … universities is restricted to five days — T.E.May
d. : the numerical result of the counting of votes cast : the total number of votes recorded
a heavy poll
elected to Congress at the head of the poll — C.G.Bowers
topped the popularity poll — Myles McSweeney
the poll was low — Blackwood's
6. obsolete : a counting of heads : census
7. : poll tax
an act for raising money by a poll — London Gazette
8. : the crown of a hat or cap
9.
a. : a questioning or canvassing or persons usually selected at random or by quota from various groups for obtaining information or opinions especially to be analyzed
what a poll gains in extensiveness it loses in intensiveness — L.W.Doob
b. : a record of the information obtained in such a poll
his position has shifted in popularity polls — John Mason Brown
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English pollen, from pol, polle, n.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cut off or cut short the hair or wool of : clip , crop , shear
poll a man
poll a man's head
poll sheep
b. : to cut off or cut short (as hair or wool)
2. archaic : to plunder by or as if by excessive taxation : practice extortion on : despoil , fleece , rob
the prince doth too much poll his subjects with heavy tributes — George Wharton
3.
a. : to cut off the head or top of (as a tree or plant) ; specifically : pollard 1
b. : to cutt off or cut short the horns of (cattle)
4.
a. : to receive and record the votes of
the first … election to poll the newly enfranchised women voters — Marion Wilhelm
b.
(1) : to call on each member of (as a jury) to answer individually as to his concurrence in a verdict rendered
(2) : to request each member of (as a delegation at a convention) to declare his vote individually
5. : to cut even without indentation — compare deed poll
6. obsolete : to count the heads of (as a group of persons) : enumerate
7. : to receive (as votes) in or as if in an election
his party … polled nearly twelve and a half million votes — Douglas Stuart
polled … 30 to 40 percent of the general election vote — V.O.Key
8. : to question or canvass in a poll
70 percent of those polled
poll attitudes on public issues
polled members of the delegation
intransitive verb
: to cast one's vote in a poll : vote at an election
a million Liberal voters polled for Conservative candidates — Contemporary Review
III. adjective
Etymology: probably short for polled, past participle of poll (II)
: polled rather than indented — used of a legal document; compare deed poll
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from obsolete English poll, adjective, naturally hornless, short for English polled (I)
: a polled animal
a Scotch poll
V. ˈpäl, ˈpȯl noun
( -s )
Etymology: from Poll, alteration of Moll, nickname for Mary
: poll parrot
VI. ˈpäl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Greek polloi many, plural of polys much — more at poly-
1. : a group of students (as at Cambridge University) taking a pass degree rather than honors
2. or poll degree : a pass or ordinary degree (as at Cambridge) : a degree without honors
VII. transitive verb
: to test (as several computer terminals sharing a single line) in sequence for messages to be transmitted