polliwog

American  

[pol-ee-wog] / ˈpɒl iˌwɒg /

Or pollywog

noun

1. a tadpole.

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polliwog British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌwɒɡ /

noun

1. dialect another name for tadpole

2. informal a sailor who has not crossed the equator Compare shellback

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Etymology

Origin of polliwog

First recorded in 1400–50; variant of polliwig, earlier polwigge, late Middle English polwygle; poll ¹, wiggle

Example Sentences

Among the masses of fauna, the pigeon occupies a rung on the human scale of fuzzy affection somewhere between a common garden slug and the lesser polliwog.

From Seattle Times

It’s about 4.5 acres that straddles the curve through Frogtown where the bottom of the concrete channel has broken up and nature has burst forth, allowing polliwogs to swim.

From Los Angeles Times

But for Metz, the amphibians are more than decorative driving companions; each and every grown-up polliwog is a little stuffed conversation starter.

From Washington Times

Alongside far more familiar polliwogs and salamander larvae, fairy shrimp swim upside down, rhythmically beating abdominal appendages that double as gills while they strain nearly microscopic sustenance from the water.

From New York Times

“We liked playing there, catching polliwogs. We’d get into ponds and mud. It was a good place,” he says.

From Seattle Times

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