polliwog

or pol·ly·wog

[ pol-ee-wog ]

/ ˈpɒl iˌwɒg /

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noun

a tadpole.

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Origin of polliwog

First recorded in 1400–50; variant of polliwig, earlier polwigge, late Middle English polwygle; see origin at poll¹, wiggle

Words nearby polliwog

pollini-, polliniferous, pollinium, pollinize, pollinosis, polliwog, pollo, pollock, Pollock, Jackson, poll parrot, pollster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use polliwog in a sentence

The result was one of those quick india-rubber scuffles fearful to behold, but delightful to human nature in its polliwog state.
Hans Brinker|Mary Mapes Dodge
The result was one of those quick India-rubber scuffles fearful to behold but delightful to human nature in its polliwog state.
Hans Brinker|Mary Mapes Dodge
The growing polliwog feeds on vegetable diet; what does the full grown frog eat?
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets|Various
The chatter of society has succeeded that of the goose and the polliwog.
'Charge It'|Irving Bacheller

Old forms of polliwog are pollywig, polewiggle, and 242 pollwiggle.
The Log of the Sun|William Beebe

British Dictionary definitions for polliwog

polliwog

pollywog

/ (ˈpɒlɪˌwɒɡ) /

noun

British dialect, US and Canadian another name for tadpole

informal a sailor who has not crossed the equatorCompare shellback

Word Origin for polliwog

C15 polwygle; see poll, wiggle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

polliwog

or pol·ly·wog

Origin of polliwog

Words nearby polliwog

Words related to polliwog

How to use polliwog in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polliwog

pollywog

Word Origin for polliwog