pollen
English
Etymology
From Latin pollen (“fine flour”). Used by Linnaeus in the 18th century to describe the spores produced in the anthers of flowers.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpɒlən/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɑlən/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɒlən
- Hyphenation: pol‧len
Noun
pollen (usually uncountable, plural pollens)
- A fine, granular substance produced in flowers.
- (botany) Pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. [from mid 18th century]
- 2013 May–June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
- (obsolete) Fine powder in general, fine flour. [16th-century per OED]
- 1523–1525, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, Froissart's Chronicles[1], translation of original by Jean Froissart:
- and ther was good wyne of Gascoyne, […] as well of pollen, as of other vitailes
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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Verb
pollen (third-person singular simple present pollens, present participle pollening, simple past and past participle pollened)
- (transitive, poetic) To cover with, or as if with, pollen.
See also
Danish
Etymology
Noun
pollen n (singular definite pollenet, plural indefinite pollen)
References
- “pollen” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɔ.lə(n)/
- Hyphenation: pol‧len
- Rhymes: -ɔlən
Etymology 1
Noun
pollen n (uncountable)
Usage notes
The common term in Dutch is stuifmeel. The term pollen is found in biology texts, but is furthermore in common use when identifying the causative agent of hay fever. In that sense, the word is often mistakenly construed as being plural (“Tranende, jeukende ogen en een loopneus: pollen zijn geen pretje”, Metro, 29 February 2016; “Er hangen al pollen in de lucht: hooikoortsseizoen is begonnen”, Het Laatste Nieuws, 10 January 2018; “Pollen kunnen nu al voor hooikoorts zorgen”, De Telegraaf, 22 December 2018).
Synonyms
Etymology 2
Verb
pollen
Conjugation
Conjugation of pollen (weak) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | pollen | |||
past singular | pollde | |||
past participle | gepolld | |||
infinitive | pollen | |||
gerund | pollen n | |||
present tense | past tense | |||
1st person singular | poll | pollde | ||
2nd person sing. (jij) | pollt, poll2 | pollde | ||
2nd person sing. (u) | pollt | pollde | ||
2nd person sing. (gij) | pollt | pollde | ||
3rd person singular | pollt | pollde | ||
plural | pollen | pollden | ||
subjunctive sing.1 | polle | pollde | ||
subjunctive plur.1 | pollen | pollden | ||
imperative sing. | poll | |||
imperative plur.1 | pollt | |||
participles | pollend | gepolld | ||
1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion. |
Etymology 3
Noun
pollen
- plural of pol
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin pollen.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔ.lɛn/
Audio: (file)
Noun
pollen m (plural pollens)
Derived terms
See also
- palynologie
- palynologique
- palynologue
Further reading
- “pollen”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Verb
pollen (weak, third-person singular present pollt, past tense pollte, past participle gepollt, auxiliary haben)
Conjugation
infinitive | pollen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | pollend | ||||
past participle | gepollt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich polle | wir pollen | i | ich polle | wir pollen |
du pollst | ihr pollt | du pollest | ihr pollet | ||
er pollt | sie pollen | er polle | sie pollen | ||
preterite | ich pollte | wir pollten | ii | ich pollte1 | wir pollten1 |
du polltest | ihr polltet | du polltest1 | ihr polltet1 | ||
er pollte | sie pollten | er pollte1 | sie pollten1 | ||
imperative | poll (du) polle (du) |
pollt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
Probably from a Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“flour, dust”); compare with Ancient Greek πάλη (pálē, “the finest meal; any fine dust”), as well as pulvis (though de Vaan is skeptical of the latter link).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈpɔl.lɛn]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈpɔl.len]
Noun
pollen n (genitive pollinis); third declension
- (literally) flour, especially fine flour, milldust
- (transferred sense) the (very) fine powder or dust of other things
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | pollen | pollina |
genitive | pollinis | pollinum |
dative | pollinī | pollinibus |
accusative | pollen | pollina |
ablative | polline | pollinibus |
vocative | pollen | pollina |
Synonyms
- (transferred sense: fine powder or dust): pulvis
Derived terms
- polenta
- pollināris (Classical Latin)
- pollinārium (New Latin)
- pollinārius (Classical Latin)
- pollinātus (Classical Latin)
- pollinicus (post-Classical)
- pollinium (New Latin)
- pollinivorus (New Latin)
- pollinōdium (New Latin)
- pollinoīdēs (New Latin)
- pollinōsus (New Latin)
Descendants
- Italian: polline
- Neapolitan: ponila (Taranto), ponnula (Lecce)
- Sardinian: poddine, poddini
- → Catalan: pol·len
- → English: pollen
- → French: pollen
- → German: Pollen
- → Portuguese: pólen
- → Romanian: polen
- → Spanish: polen
References
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “pollen, -inis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 477
Further reading
- “pollen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “pollen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- pollĕn in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,195/1.
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “pollen”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 9: Placabilis–Pyxis, page 131
- Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “pŏllen”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 497
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Noun
pollen n (definite singular pollenet)
Related terms
References
- “pollen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɔlːn̩/
Etymology 1
Noun
pollen n (definite singular pollenet)
Related terms
Etymology 2
Noun
pollen m
- definite singular of poll
References
- “pollen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Noun
pollen n (uncountable)
Declension
nominative | genitive | ||
---|---|---|---|
singular | indefinite | pollen | pollens |
definite | pollenet | pollenets | |
plural | indefinite | — | — |
definite | — | — |
Derived terms
- pollenallergi (“pollen allergy”)
- pollenallergiker (“someone allergic to pollen”)