▪ I. Poland1
(ˈpəʊlənd)
Also 6–7 Poleland.
[f. Pole n.4 + land n.1 (or perh. ad. Ger. Polen, MHG. Polân, with ending assimilated to land).]
A country of E. Europe; hence short for Poland oats or wheat, Poland fowl.
| 1564 Brief Exam. D iv, O woulde to God the state of the Churches of..Poleland were brought to this poynte. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 17 The Bridges of Poleland. 1812 Examiner 4 May 282/1 Oats 53s...57s. od. Polands 58s., 59s. od. 1849 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1858) 56 The newly-hatched chicks are grey, much resembling those of the silver Polands. |
b. attrib. and
Comb., as
Poland breed,
Poland oat;
Poland fowl, one of a breed of domestic fowls, having black plumage and a white topknot;
Poland manna: see
manna1 6;
Poland wheat, white cone wheat (
Triticum polonicum).
| 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 476/2 The *Poland breed, which is black-feathered, with white topknots, lays well. |
| 1830 ‘B. Moubray’ Dom. Poultry (ed. 6) 15 The *Poland fowls, as they are generally called, were chiefly imported from Holland. |
| 1764 Museum Rust. III. xxxv. 155 Most of my neighbours prefer the white *Poland oat. |
| 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 342 White-Lammas, or *Poland-wheat. |
Hence
ˈPolander, a native of Poland, a Pole (
obs.); also a Poland fowl.
| 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 133 He [was]..inforced to leaue the whole possession of Liuonia to the Polander. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 450 You will not see..regiments formed of Russians, of Polanders, or of Venetians. 1830 ‘B. Moubray’ Dom. Poultry (ed. 6) 16 The Polanders..are one of the most useful varieties. |
▪ II. Poland2 The name of a town in Maine,
U.S., used
attrib. and absol. to designate the variety of mineral water obtained from springs there.
| 1881 J. G. Blaine Let. 6 Sept. in H. Ricker Poland Mineral Spring Water (1883) 37 Send two more cases Poland to the President [sc. Garfield]... The President will drink no other water. 1883 H. Ricker Poland Spring, Maine 18 The well-known effects following the use of Poland water were not discovered in a day. 1893 G. H. Haynes State of Maine 41 All parties are requested to examine the fine display of Poland Water..at this Columbian Exposition. 1917 H. Ricker Poland Spring Poland water can be obtained in dining-cars, transatlantic steamships and in the leading cities throughout Europe. 1937 Maine: Guide ‘Down East’ iii. 362 Poland Water is one of the few bottled waters that has continued to maintain a popularity. 1967 H. Johnson in C. Ray Compleat Imbiber IX. 148 Poland water is America's Perrier. It is not so fizzy but just as smart. 1968 J. Leasor Passport for Pilgrim x. 181 He had a bottle of Poland water and a glass... He never drank anything but Poland water. He had a weak stomach, and it was comforting to him. 1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Feb. 120/1 The American billionaire, Howard Hughes... All he drank was Poland water (whatever that may be). |