~ 1
■ noun
1》 a long, slender piece of wood or metal, typically used as a support.
↘a wooden shaft fitted to the front of a cart or carriage drawn by animals and attached to their yokes or collars.
↘a simple fishing rod.
2》 a young tree with a straight slender trunk and no lower branches.
3》 historical, chiefly Brit. another term for perch 3 (in sense 1).
↘(also square ~ ) another term for perch 3 (in sense 2).
■ verb propel (a boat) with a ~.
Phrases
under bare ~s Sailing with no sail set.
up the ~ informal
1》 Brit. mad.
2》 chiefly Irish pregnant.
Origin
OE pāl , of Gmc origin, based on L. palus 'stake'.
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~ 2
■ noun
1》 either of the two locations ( North Pole or South Pole ) on the earth which are the ends of the axis of rotation.
2》 each of two opposed or contradictory principles or ideas.
3》 Geometry each of the two points at which the axis of a circle cuts the surface of a sphere.
↘a fixed point to which other points or lines are referred, e.g. the origin of polar coordinates.
4》 each of the two opposite points of a magnet at which magnetic forces are strongest.
↘each of two terminals (positive and negative) of an electric cell, battery, or machine.
5》 Biology an extremity of the main axis of a cell, organ, or participle
Phrases
be ~s apart have nothing in common.
Derivatives
~ward adjective
~wards adjective & adverb
Origin
ME: from L. polus , from Gk polos 'pivot, axis, sky'.