Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Pŏl'ished-ness, n. p. 1007State of being polished, or of being refined and elegant. Donne. Coventry.Pōl'ish-er, n. p. 1007One who polishes; that which polishes or is used in polishing. Addison.Pōl'ish-ing-ī'ron, n. p. 1007An iron implement used in smoothing; a flat-iron. Simmonds.Pŏl'ish-ing-slāte, n. p. 1007A hone-slate or whetstone.Pōl'ish-ing-snāke, n. p. 1007A tool used by lithographers. Simmonds.Pŏl'ish-ment, n. p. 1007The act of polishing, or the state of being polished. [Rare.]Po-lite', a. p. 1007Smooth; glossy; polished. [Obs.] “Rays of light falling on a polite surface.” Newton. 2. Elegant in manners; refined in behavior; well-bred; courteous; complaisant; obliging. He marries, bows at…Po·lite', v. t. p. 1007To cause to be polite; to render polite. [Obs.] Ray.Po-līte'ly, adv. p. 1007With elegance of manners; genteelly; courteously.Po-līte'ness, n. p. 1007The state or quality of being polite; polish or elegance of manners; gentility; good breeding; courteousness; complaisance; obliging attentions. 2. Rare finish; elegance. [Obs.] “Renowned for the…Pŏl'i-tĕsse' (-tĕs'),, n. p. 1007Politeness. ☞ “An affected word, unless when applied, by way of contempt, to overacted politeness.” Smart.Pŏl'i-tic, a. p. 1007Political; as, the body politic. He with his people made all but one politic body. Sidney. 2. Pertaining to or promoting a policy, especially a national policy; well devised; adapted to its end…Pŏl'i-tie, n. p. 1007A politician. [Obs.] “Worldlings and depraved politics.” Bacon.Po-litʹi-cal, a. p. 1007Furnished with fixed or regular system or administration of government. [Rare.] This beautiful city is more stained with such horrid acts of revenge and murders than any one place in Europe, . . . or…Po-lit'ic-al-ism, n. p. 1007Earnestness or party spirit in political matters.Po-lit'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 1007In a political manner.Po-lĭt'i-căs/ter, n. p. 1007A petty politician; a pretender to politics. “The tribe of aphorismers and politicasters.” Milton.Pŏl/i-tĭ'cian, n. p. 1007One who is versed in the science of government and the art of governing; one devoted to politics. “Empiric politicians.” Dryden. 2. One who is devoted to the advancement of a political party; one who…Pŏl/i-tĭ'cian, a. p. 1007Cunning; using artifice. [Obs.]Po-lĭt'i-çist, n. p. 1007A political writer. [Rare.]Pŏl'i-tic-ly, adv. p. 1007In a political manner; sagaciously; artfully.Pŏl'i-tics, n. sing. p. 1007The science of government; that part of ethics which has to do with the regulation and government of a nation or state, the preservation of its safety, peace, and prosperity; the defense of its…Pŏl'i-tīze, v. t. p. 1007To play the politician. [Obs.] Milton.Pŏl'i-tūre, n. p. 1007Polish; the gloss given by polishing. [Obs.] Deane.Pŏl'i-ty, n. p. 1007The form or constitution of civil government by which a nation or state is organized; the framework or organization by which the various departments of a civil government are combined into a…Pŏl'kă, n. p. 1007A dance of Polish origin, but now popular every where. It is performed by two persons in common time. ☞ Somewhere about the year 1831, a young peasant girl, who was in the service of a citizen of…Pŏl'kā-jäck'et, n. p. 1007A kind of knit jacket worn by women. Simmonds.Pŏll, n. p. 1007The head of a person, or the back part of the head; — sometimes, in composition, applied to the head of a beast, as in poll-evil. “All flaxen was his poll.” Shak. 2. A register of heads, that is, of…Pŏll, v. t. p. 1007To remove the poll or head of; hence, to remove the top or ends of; to clip; to lop; to shear; to cut closely; as, to poll the head, the hair, or the wool; to poll the branches of a tree; also…Pŏll, n. p. 1007[From Polly, a name.] A parrot; — familiarly so called. 2. [Gr. οἱ πολλοί, the many, the rabble.] One who does not try for honors, but is contented to obtain a degree merely. [Cambridge Univ., Eng.]Pŏl'lack, n. p. 1007(Ichth.) A salt-water fish of the cod family; the whiting. [Written also pollock.]Pŏll’age, n. p. 1007A head-tax or capitation-tax; hence, extortion. [Obs.] Foxe.Pŏl'lard, n. p. 1007A tree having its top cut off at some height above the ground, that it may throw out branches. “Grubbing up an old pollard ash.” Pennant. 2. A coin which has been clipped; and hence, a counterfeit.…Pŏl'lard, v. t. p. 1008To lop the tops of, as trees; to poll. Evelyn.Pōll'-bōok, n. p. 1008A register of voters exercising their franchise. Simmonds.Pōl'-clerk, n. p. 1008A clerk who enters or registers the names of voters at elections as they appear and vote. See CLERK. Simmonds.Pōlled, p. a. p. 1008Deprived of a poll; cropped; as, (a.) Lopped; — said of trees having their tops cut off. (b.) Cropped; hence, bald; — said of a person. The polled bachelor... At seventy thou canst catch. Beau. & Fl.…Pŏl'len, n. p. 1008Fine bran or flour. [Obs.] Bailey. 2. (Bot.) The fecundating dust or powder of the anthers of flowers. Martyn. Pollen-mass (Bot.), the pollen of a plant, when its grains unite into a mass, as in…Pŏl'len-ā'ri-oŭs, a. p. 1008Consisting of meal or pollen.Pŏl'len-ger, n. p. 1008Brushwood. [Obs.] Tusser.Pōl'len-īne, n. p. 1008(Chem.) A substance obtained from the pollen of plants.Pōl'ler, n. p. 1008One who polls; as, (a.) One who polls or lops trees. (b.) One who polls or cuts hair; a barber. [Rare.] (c.) One who extorts or plunders. [Obs.] Bacon. (d.) One who registers voters, or one who…Pōll'-ē'vĭl, n. p. 1008(Far.) A swelling or aposteme on a horse's head, or on the nape of the neck, between the ears.Pol-lĭç'i-tā'tion, n. p. 1008A voluntary engagement, or a paper containing it; a promise. Henry. 2. (Civil Law.) A promise without mutuality; a promise which has not been accepted by the person to whom it is made. Burrill.…Pol-līge'tor, n. p. 1008(Antiq.) A servant of an undertaker, who prepared a corpse for burial by washing and anointing it. (Obs.)Pŏl-lĭ-nĭf’er-oŭs, a. p. 1008Producing pollen.Pŏl'lin-ōse', a. p. 1008Covered with a mealy powder somewhat resembling the pollen of flowers.Pŏl'li-wĭg, n. p. 1008A tadpole. [Written also purwiggy and porwigle, and in the United States vulgarly written and pronounced polliwog.] Forby. That which is engendered and brought forth is, as it were, some little mites…Pŏl'lock, n. p. 1008(Ichth.) A fish, the whiting, or pollack.Pōll'-tăx, n. p. 1008A tax levied by the head or poll; a capitation tax.Pol-lūte', v. t. p. 1008To make foul or unclean; to render impure; to taint. 2. To defile morally; to destroy the perfection or purity of; to corrupt; to impair; to profane. Ye pollute yourselves with all your idols. Ezek.…Pol-lūte', a. p. 1008Polluted; defiled. Milton.Pol-lūt'ed-ly, adv. p. 1008In a polluted state or manner.Pol-lūt'ed-ness, n. p. 1008The state of being polluted; defilement.Pol-lū'ter, n. p. 1008One who pollutes or profanes; a defiler.Pol·ī̆t'ing, p. a. p. 1008Adapted or tending to defile or infect.Pol-lūt'ing-ly, adv. p. 1008Corruptingly.Pol-lū'tion, n. p. 1008The act of polluting, or the state of being polluted; defilement; uncleanness; impurity. 2. (Jewish Antiq.) Legal or ceremonial uncleanness, which disqualified a person for sacred services or for…Pŏl'lux, n. p. 1008(Astron.) A fixed star, of the second magnitude, in the constellation Gemini, or the Twins. 2. (Min.) A colorless, transparent variety of feldspar, resembling quartz, found on the island of Elba.…Pō'lo-nā'īse', a. p. 1008Pertaining to, or derived from, the Poles or Poland. [Written also Polonese.]