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Pole

1. A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been removed; as, specifically: A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which the carriage is guided and held back. A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported. A Maypole. See Maypole. A barbers pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a sign by barbers and hairdressers. A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines, are trained.

2. A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5 yards, or a square measure equal to 30 square yards; a rod; a perch.

3. Either extremity of an axis of a sphere; especially, one of the extremities of the earth's axis; as, the north pole.

4. (Science: geometry) A point upon the surface of a sphere equally distant from every part of the circumference of a great circle; or the point in which a diameter of the sphere perpendicular to the plane of such circle meets the surface. Such a point is called the pole of that circle; as, the pole of the horizon; the pole of the ec bcb liptic; the pole of a given meridian.

5. (Science: physics) One of the opposite or contrasted parts or directions in which a polar force is manifested; a point of maximum intensity of a force which has two such points, or which has polarity; as, the poles of a magnet; the north pole of a needle.