Wiktionary

poll

See also: Poll, póll, põll, and Pöll

English

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 Poll on Wikipedia

Etymology 1

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From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”),[1] from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”).

Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adj), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”).

Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll (plural polls)

  2. A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
    Synonym: survey
  4. A formal vote held in order to ascertain the most popular choice.
    Synonyms: vote, election
    The student council had a poll to see what people want served in the cafeteria.
    • 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
      All soldiers quartered in place are to remove […] and not to return till one day after the poll is ended.
    • 1942 May-June, Charles E. Lee, “The Brampton Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 140, relating to an election in 1837:
      The other returns having come in, the result of the poll, that Sir James Graham had been superseded by Major Aglionby, was declared at Carlisle soon after 11 a.m.
  5. A polling place (usually as plural, polling places)
    The polls close at 8 p.m.
  6. The result of the voting, the total number of votes recorded.
  8. (now rare outside veterinary contexts) The head, particularly the scalp or pate upon which hair (normally) grows.
    Synonym: scalp
    • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
      […] the doctor, as if to hear better, had taken off his powdered wig, and sat there, looking very strange indeed with his own close-cropped black poll.
    • 1908, O. Henry, A Tempered Wind:
      And you might perceive the president and general manager, Mr. R. G. Atterbury, with his priceless polished poll, busy in the main office room dictating letters..
    • 2005, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Donald J. LaRocca, Dirk H. Breiding, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480-1620, Metropolitan Museum of Art, →ISBN, page 53:
      The main plate is formed in two halves, the upper plate having small sideplates, ear guards, an escutcheon plate (blank), and a brass plume-holder, as well as a hinged poll plate.
  9. (in extended senses of the above) A mass of people, a mob or muster, considered as a head count.
  10. The broad or butt end of an axe or a hammer.
  11. The pollard or European chub, a kind of fish.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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poll (third-person singular simple present polls, present participle polling, simple past and past participle polled)

  1. (transitive) To take, record the votes of (an electorate).
  2. (transitive) To solicit mock votes from (a person or group).
  3. (intransitive) To vote at an election.
  4. To register or deposit, as a vote; to elicit or call forth, as votes or voters.
    He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent.
    • 1717, Thomas Tickell, An Epistle from a Lady in England to a Gentleman at Avignon:
      poll for points of faith his trusty vote
  5. To cut off; to remove by clipping, shearing, etc.; to mow or crop.
    to poll the hair; to poll wool; to poll grass
  6. (transitive) To cut the hair of (a creature).
  7. (transitive) To remove the horns of (an animal).
  8. To remove the top or end of; to clip; to lop.
    to poll a tree
  9. (transitive, computing, communication) To (repeatedly) request the status of something (such as a computer or printer on a network).
    The network hub polled the department’s computers to determine which ones could still respond.
  10. (intransitive, with adverb) To be judged in a poll.
    • 2008, Joanne McEvoy, The politics of Northern Ireland, page 171:
      The election was a resounding defeat for Robert McCartney who polled badly in the six constituencies he contested and even lost his own Assembly seat in North Down.
  11. (obsolete) To extort from; to plunder; to strip. Especially in conjunction with pill for emphasis.
  12. To impose a tax upon.
  13. To pay as one's personal tax.
  14. To enter, as polls or persons, in a list or register; to enroll, especially for purposes of taxation; to enumerate one by one.
  15. (law) To cut or shave smooth or even; to cut in a straight line without indentation[2]
    a polled deed
Translations
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Adjective

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poll

  1. (of kinds of livestock which typically have horns) Bred without horns, and thus hornless.
    Poll Hereford
    Red Poll cows
    • 1757, The monthly review, or, literary journal, volume 17, page 416:
      Sheep, that is, the Horned sort, and those without Horns, called Poll Sheep [...]
    • 1960, Frank O'Loghlen, Frank H. Johnston, Cattle country: an illustrated survey of the Australian beef cattle industry, a complete directory of the studs, page 85:
      About 15000 cattle, comprising 10000 Hereford and Poll Hereford, 4000 Aberdeen Angus and 1000 Shorthorn and Poll Shorthorn, are grazed [...]
    • 1970, The Pastoral review, volume 80, page 457:
      Otherwise, both horned and poll sheep continue to be bred from an inner stud.

References

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  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "poll, n.1" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2006.
  2. ^ Alexander M[ansfield] Burrill (1850–1851) “POLL”, in A New Law Dictionary and Glossary: […], volume (please specify |part= or |volume=I or II), New York, N.Y.: John S. Voorhies, […], →OCLC.

Etymology 2

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Perhaps a shortening of Polly, a common name for pet parrots.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll (plural polls)

  1. A pet parrot.

Etymology 3

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From Ancient Greek πολλοί (polloí, “the many, the masses”), as in hoi polloi.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll (plural polls)

  1. (UK, dated, Cambridge University) One who does not try for honors at university, but is content to take a degree merely; a passman.
See also
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References

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  • Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Old Catalan poll, from Latin pullus.

Noun

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poll m (plural polls)

  1. chicken (bird)
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Inherited from Old Catalan pooll~peoll, from Late Latin pēduculus.

Noun

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poll m (plural polls)

  1. louse (insect)
Derived terms
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See also
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References

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  • “poll” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology 3

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Ultimately from Latin pōpulus.

Noun

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poll m (plural polls)

  1. poplar
    Synonym: pollancre
Derived terms
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References

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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poll

  1. inflection of pollen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

German

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Verb

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poll

  1. singular imperative of pollen
  2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of pollen

Icelandic

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Noun

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poll

  1. indefinite accusative singular of pollur

Irish

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Etymology

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From Middle Irish poll (“hole”), from Old English pull, pyll (“tidal pool”) or Old Norse pollr (whence Icelandic pollur), from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool”). Cognate with Welsh pwll.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll m (genitive singular poill, nominative plural poill)

  1. hole
  2. storage pit; disposal pit; extraction pit
  3. pool, puddle; pond, sea
  4. burrow, lair
  5. dark, mean place (of prison)
  6. shaft, vent hole
  7. aperture
  8. (anatomy) orifice, cavity
  9. perforation
  10. (figuratively) leak
  11. pothole

Declension

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Declension of poll (first declension)
bare forms
case singular plural
nominative poll poill
vocative a phoill a pholla
genitive poill poll
dative poll poill
forms with the definite article
case singular plural
nominative an poll na poill
genitive an phoill na bpoll
dative leis an bpoll
don pholl 		leis na poill

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Verb

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poll (present analytic pollann, future analytic pollfaidh, verbal noun polladh, past participle pollta)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) hole; puncture, pierce, bore, perforate (make a hole in)

Conjugation

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conjugation of poll (first conjugation – A)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present pollaim pollann tú;
pollair† 		pollann sé, sí pollaimid pollann sibh pollann siad;
pollaid† 		a phollann; a phollas /
a bpollann* 		polltar
past pholl mé; phollas pholl tú; phollais pholl sé, sí phollamar; pholl muid pholl sibh; phollabhair pholl siad; pholladar a pholl /
ar pholl* 		polladh
past habitual phollainn / bpollainn‡‡ pholltá / bpolltᇇ pholladh sé, sí / bpolladh sé, s퇇 phollaimis; pholladh muid / bpollaimis‡‡; bpolladh muid‡‡ pholladh sibh / bpolladh sibh‡‡ phollaidís; pholladh siad / bpollaidís‡‡; bpolladh siad‡‡ a pholladh /
a bpolladh* 		pholltaí / bpollta퇇
future pollfaidh mé;
pollfad 		pollfaidh tú;
pollfair† 		pollfaidh sé, sí pollfaimid;
pollfaidh muid 		pollfaidh sibh pollfaidh siad;
pollfaid† 		a phollfaidh; a phollfas /
a bpollfaidh* 		pollfar
conditional phollfainn / bpollfainn‡‡ phollfá / bpollfᇇ phollfadh sé, sí / bpollfadh sé, s퇇 phollfaimis; phollfadh muid / bpollfaimis‡‡; bpollfadh muid‡‡ phollfadh sibh / bpollfadh sibh‡‡ phollfaidís; phollfadh siad / bpollfaidís‡‡; bpollfadh siad‡‡ a phollfadh /
a bpollfadh* 		phollfaí / bpollfa퇇
subjunctive present go bpolla mé;
go bpollad† 		go bpolla tú;
go bpollair† 		go bpolla sé, sí go bpollaimid;
go bpolla muid 		go bpolla sibh go bpolla siad;
go bpollaid† 		— go bpolltar
past dá bpollainn dá bpolltá dá bpolladh sé, sí dá bpollaimis;
dá bpolladh muid 		dá bpolladh sibh dá bpollaidís;
dá bpolladh siad 		— dá bpolltaí
imperative pollaim poll polladh sé, sí pollaimis pollaigí;
pollaidh† 		pollaidís — polltar
verbal noun polladh
past participle pollta

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutated forms of poll
radical lenition eclipsis
poll pholl bpoll

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

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Middle English

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

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poll

  1. A head, particularly the scalp or pate upon which the hair (normally) grows

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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From Old Norse pollr.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll m (definite singular pollen, indefinite plural pollar, definite plural pollane)

  1. a small branch of a fjord, often with a narrow inlet

Further reading

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English poll.

Noun

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poll n (plural polluri)

  1. vote, election
  2. opinion poll

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative poll pollul polluri pollurile
genitive-dative poll pollului polluri pollurilor
vocative pollule pollurilor

References

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  • poll in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

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Etymology

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From Middle Irish poll (“hole”), from Old English pull, pyll (“tidal pool”) or Old Norse pollr (whence Icelandic pollur), from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool”). Cognate with Welsh pwll.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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poll m (genitive singular puill, plural puill)

  1. mud, mire
  2. pond, pool, bog

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutation of poll
radical lenition
poll pholl

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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