good things to happen f tfc % M #J X
MflfeWI From the name of a
character created by the
mmAvummw,
pollywog = POLLIWOG
polo /'paulau; NAmE 'poulou/ noun
[U]
a
game in which two teams of players riding on horses try to hit a ball into a
goal using long wooden hammers (called mallets)
S; zft ) — picture o page R31 — see
also WATER POLO
polonaise /.pDla'neiz; NAmE ,pa:l-/ noun a slow Polish dance that
was popular in the 19th century; a piece of music for this dance 19 MtWtiAX
mm); m
1 polo neck (BrE) [NAmE turtle-neck) noun a high round collar made when the neck of a piece of clothing is folded
over; a piece of clothing with a polo neck jSi ® SI ^; jU 0 IB A jjfil: You can
wear a polo neck with that jacket M IS oa
polo-neck sweater — picture o page R22
po lo nium /pe'launiam; NAmE -'lou-/ noun [U] [symb Po) a chemical element. Polonium is a radioactive metal that is present in nature when uranium decays. IN ( M )
'polo
shirt noun an informal shirt with
short sleeves, a collar and a few buttons at the
neck ffy ) — picture o page R22
pol-ter-geist /'paoltagaist; 'pnl-; NAmE 'poultarg-/ noun
a ghost that makes loud
noises and throws objects
pol troon /pDl'truin; NAmE pail't-/ noun
(old use, disapproving) a coward
(= a person who lacks courage) flH
/hit;
if*
poly /'pnli; NAmE
'pa:li/ noun [pi. polys) [BrE, informal)
= POLYTECHNIC
poly- /'pDli; NAmE 'pa:li/ combining form (in nouns, adjectives
and adverbs J* W isj ffl ®i is]) many
^;
A: polygamy — AgA opolyphonic A poly an dry /.pnli'aendri;
,pa:l-/ noun [u] (technical * i§) the custom of
having more than one husband at the same time (
ffrJ ) —compare polygamy
►
poly-an-drous /.pnli'aendras;
NAmE ,pa:l-/ adj. poly an thus /.pnli'aenGas; NAmE ,pa:l-/ noun [C, U] a small garden plant
with round brightly coloured flowers, several of which grow at the end of each stem
tmmmmit>■.'
poly car bon ate /.pnli'kaibanat; NAmE ,pa:li'ka:rb-/ noun
[U, C] (technical 2ft i«) a very strong
transparent plastic used, for example, in windows and lenses Mtffc
mm ( )
poly-clinic /'pDliklmik; NAmE 'pa:l-/ noun [BrE] a medical centre that is
not part of a hospital, where both general doctors and specialists work i##r; £*
poly-cot-ton /'pnlikDtn; NAmE 'pa:lika:tn/ noun
[U] [BrE) a type of cloth made from a mixture of cotton and polyester MM
poly-es-ter
/,pDli'esta(r);
NAmE, pa:li-;
'padiestar/ noun [U] a strong material made of fibres (called polyesters) which are
produced by chemical processes, often mixed with other materials and used
especially for making clothes f a
cotton and polyester shirt
-mmmm
poly-ethyl-ene /.pDli'eGaliin; NAmE ,pa:l-/ noun
[U] [NAmE) = POLYTHENE
pol-yg-amy
/pa'ligami/
noun [u] [technical * if) the custom of having
more than one wife at the same time ( rfrJ ) —compare polyandry ► pol-yg-am-ist /pa'ligamist/ noun pol-yg-am-ous /pa'ligamas/ adj.: a polygamous
marriage/society / ft A
polyglot /'pDliglDt; NAmE 'padiglait/ adj. [formal) knowing, using or
written in more than one language ii& ( SCI
multilingual : a polyglot nation
g if # K jj& ► polyglot noun
poly-gon /‘pDligan; NAmE 'pa:liga:n/ noun [geometry /linjj a flat shape with
at least three straight sides and angles, and usually five or more ► poi
yg-on-al /pa'liganl/ adj.
poly-graph
/'pDligrsef;
NAmE ‘paili-; BrE also -gra:f/ noun [technical *if) = lie detector poly-he-dron /,pDli'hi:dran; -'hed-; NAmE ,pa:li-/ noun [pi. poly-he-dra /-'hiidra; -'hed-/ or polyhedrons) [geometry Jif6]j a solid shape
with many flat sides, usually more than six gifiW ( ) ► poly-he-dral
adj.
poly-math /'pDlimaeG; NAmE 'pari-/ noun [formal, approving) a person who knows a lot
about many different subjects
poly mer /'pnlim0(r); NAmE 'pari-/ noun [chemistry it) a natural or artificial
substance consisting of large molecules (= groups of atoms) that
are made from combinations of small simple molecules M. ^
MW
poly mer ize [BrE also -ise) /'polimaraiz; NAmE 'parli-/ verb [V, VN] [chemistry it) to combine, or to make
units of a chemical combine, to make a polymer ( ) M
FF:
The
substance polymerizes to form a hard plastic.
# $ Jit M a- Jf J* M 5f! Wm & o ► poly-mer-iza-tion /.polimarai'zeijn; NAmE .parli-/ noun [U] poly morphous /.pnli'morfes; NAmE .padi'moirfas/ (also poly-morph-ic /-fik/) adj. [formal or technical 7ftif) having or passing
through many stages of development ( AM )
polyp /'pDlip; NAmE 'parlip/ noun 1 [medical E) a small lump that
grows inside the body, especially in the nose, that is caused by disease but is
usually harmless S |£j;
( Xta ) 2 a small and very simple sea creature
with a body shaped like a
tube ( 7JC&IM ) IfBJi; 7jc
tlib
pol yph ony /pa'lifani/ noun [U] [music jlf) the combination of
several different patterns of musical notes sung together to form a single
piece of music A iMEfsE', A if 9E ft counterpoint ► polyphonic /.pDli'fnmk; NAmE .parli'farmk/ adj.
poly-pro-pyl-ene
/.pDli'praupaliin;
NAmE .padi'prou-/ noun [U] a strong plastic often
used for objects such as toys or chairs that are made in a mould Mi^M poly-sem-ous /.pnli'siimas; NAmE ,pa:l-/ adj. [linguistics W) (of a word iw])
having more than one meaning
(-m) gx&j
poly-semy /pa'lisimi/ noun [u] [linguistics g) the fact of having more
than one meaning ( — isj )
poly-styrene
/.pnli'stairiin;
NAmE ,pa:l-/ (also Styrofoam™ especially in NAmE) noun [U] a very light soft
plastic that is usually white, used especially for making containers that
prevent heat loss M^ZjM: polystyrene
cups Mttz.mwx
poly syl lable /'pnlisitebl; NAmE 'pa:l-/ noun [technical 7|t if) a word of several
(usually more than three) syllables 1?is] ►
poly-syl-lab-ic /.pnlisi'laebik; NAmE ,pa:l -/ adj.
poiy-tech-nic /.pnli'tekmk; NAmE ,pa:l-/ (also BrE informal poly) noun (in
poly the ism /'pDliGiizam; NAmE 'pa:l-/ noun [U] the belief that
there is more than one god — compare monotheism ► poly-the-is-tic /.pDliBi'istik; NAmE ,pad-/ adj.
poiy-thene /'pnli0i:n; NAmE 'pad-/ [BrE) [NAmE poly- ethyl-ene) noun [U] a strong thin
plastic material, used especially for making bags or for wrapping things in MZjM: a polythene bag
poly-tun nel /'pDlitAnl; NAmE 'pad-/ noun a long low structure
covered with plastic used for growing seeds or young plants outdoors