▪ I. ‖ pol1 Obs. rare.
[L. pol, contracted from Pollux.]
A form of asseveration. Cf. edipol.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Ep. Ded., Wks. (Grosart) III. 8 By Poll and Aedipoll I protest. 1600 Dekker Shoemaker's Holiday i. (1862) 9 Your pols and your edipols. 1609 Ev. Woman in Hum. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV. 378 Hee has his pols, and his ædypols, his times and his tricks. |
▪ II. pol2 N. Amer.
(pɒl)
Colloq. abbrev. of politician.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §854/1 Politician,..pol, polly, poly. 1965 F. Knebel Night of Camp David ii. 54 The clutter of pols and stale whisky glasses in the hotel suites. 1966 Economist 18 June 1315/2 Gossip has it that the ‘pols’, as the state's professional politicians (particularly Democrats) are called, felt guilty about the shabby treatment delivered to Mr Peabody when he was Governor [of Massachusetts]. 1972 Time 17 July 15/3 The young pols beat them at their own game. 1976 Toronto Star 14 Feb. b1/2 Can a bunch of battle-scarred old pols—including a couple of Liberal party retreads—gang up to stop a brash young lawyer named Brian Mulroney? 1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends ii. ii. 139 What had he become? A two-bit pol, flashing about other people's corridors, waiting for his break? |
▪ III. pol
obs. form of poll, pool n.1