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; see origin at poll ¹, wiggle

Explanation

A polliwog is a baby frog or toad. While as adults they'll have strong back legs that allow them to hop around on land, polliwogs have tails and live in the water. A polliwog is another word for a tadpole, the earliest stage in the life of an amphibian. Polliwogs are aquatic, living entirely in water and propelling themselves with their tiny tails. The process of a polliwog becoming a full-grown frog or toad is called metamorphosis, and it includes the growth of legs and lungs — and the loss of the tail. Even though they sound unrelated, polliwog and tadpole share the root word pol, "head."

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 • Mar. 14, 2021

Ancestors of the newt, the polliwog, the lizard and the water snake.

From Time Magazine Archive

He envisioned the snug Aircar as every man's airplane, affectionately called it his polliwog.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Governor General of the Philippine Islands was dealt with as a polliwog, went ashore a short time later to be regaled in the palace of the Dutch Viceroy in Batavia.

From Time Magazine Archive

Old forms of polliwog are pollywig, polewiggle, and 242 pollwiggle.

From The Log of the Sun A Chronicle of Nature's Year by Beebe, William

Related Words

• toad