n.
Function: noun
Etymology: French poule, literally, hen, from Old French, feminine of poul cock ― more at PULLET
Date: 1708
1 a : an aggregate stake to which each player of a game has contributed b : all the money bet by a number of persons on a particular event
2 a : a game played on an English billiard table in which each of the players stakes a sum and the winner takes all b : any of various games of billiards played on an oblong table having 6 pockets with usually 15 object balls
3 : an aggregation of the interests or property of different persons made to further a joint undertaking by subjecting them to the same control and a common liability
4 : a readily available supply: as a : the whole quantity of a particular material present in the body and available for function or the satisfying of metabolic demands b : a body product (as blood) collected from many donors and stored for later use c : a group of people available for some purpose <a shrinking pool of applicants> <typing pool >
5 : GENE POOL
6 : a group of journalists from usually several news organizations using pooled resources (as television equipment) to produce shared coverage especially of events to which access is restricted