Etymologically
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bipolar

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /baɪˈpəʊ.lə/[1]
  • US: /baɪˈpoʊ.lɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English bi- (“two”) + polar.[2][3][4][5][6] The adjective polar comes from French polaire or directly from Medieval Latin polāris (“of the poles”), from Latin polus (“end of an axis”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having two poles or opposite ends: 1810 in the OED and Etymonline, which records it first in a figurative sense, "of double aspect".[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates the sense "having two poles" to 1806,[5] and Dictionary.com places the word in 1800–10.[6]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word was applied to nerve cells with two processes, one at each pole, by 1859,[3][2][4] and to living things found in both polar regions from 1896.[2][5] In electronics a bipolar transistor uses both electrons and holes as charge carriers.[7][5] The psychiatric sense, for an illness with both manic and depressive episodes, dates from the mid 20th century;[4] Etymonline says that it is said to have begun with the German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard in 1957, for what had been called manic-depressive psychosis.[3] Merriam-Webster dates bipolar disorder to 1972 and bipolar affective disorder to 1978,[5] and Etymonline notes that bipolar disorder appeared in DSM-III (1980) and that the term became popular in the early 1990s.[3] The noun, a person with bipolar disorder, is recorded from 1984.[5] The general sense of having two opposed natures or views is also current.[7][5]

Timeline

  • 1806 – having two poles.[5]
  • 1810 – figurative, of double aspect.[3][2]
  • 1859 – of nerve cells, having two processes.[3]
  • 1896 – found in both polar regions.[2]
  • 1957 – psychiatric use, with Karl Leonhard.[3]
  • 1972 – bipolar disorder.[5]
  • 1984 – noun, a person with bipolar disorder.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having or using two poles: a bipolar electrode.[7][5][2]
  2. Of a neuron: having two processes, one at each end of the cell body.[5][2][4]
  3. Relating to or found in both polar regions.[7][5][2]
  4. Having two opposed natures, opinions or forces.[7][5]
  5. Having or relating to bipolar disorder, with episodes of mania and depression.[7][5][4]
  6. Of a transistor: using both electrons and holes as charge carriers.[7][5]

Noun

  1. (medicine) A person who has bipolar disorder.[5]

Word family

  • bipolarity
  • bipolarization
  • multipolar
  • nonpolar
  • polar
  • unipolar
  • pole

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins