maypole
/ˈmeɪˌpoʊl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.23 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A very tall girl or young lady.
noun
A maypole-like structure of sticks placed about a sapling in the bowers of certain species of bowerbird.
noun
A penis, especially a large one.
verb
To dance or spin in a circle around something.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "How would you like the maypole decorated?"
- "The maypole, the focal point of many traditional spring games and festivities, is believed to be a relic of ancient phallic worship."
- "The seemingly innocent Maypole is a relic of witchcraft."
- "At Ickwell Green, in Bedfordshire, there is a permanent maypole. There, the May Queen is accompanied by moggies (raggedly dressed women) carrying besoms - birch-twig brooms."
- "The male Golden Bowerbird is a beautiful bird that builds one of the greatest structures in the natural world, a maypole up to three metres tall constructed of sticks and festooned with decorative clusters of flowers and lichens."
- "and now, disengag'd from the shirt, I saw, with wonder and surprise, what? not the play-thing of a boy, not the weapon of a man, but a maypole of so enormous a standard, that had proportions been observ'd, it must have belong'd to a young giant."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂sder.? Latin Maia Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *-os Archaic Latin -os Latin -us Latin Maiusder. Old French maibor. Middle English May English May English pole English maypole Compound of May + pole, so called in reference to its use on May Day.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmeɪˌpoʊl/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
maypole dancer