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pol

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pol

Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
280/260–before 200 BC, Livius Andronicus
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (Πολυδεύκης)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɔɫ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɔl][1]

Forms

pol (interjection)[1]

Etymology

It is a shortened form of the name of Pollūx, the divine twin of Castor, used in oaths; the TLL allows that it may continue an older form of the name, and notes Wackernagel's view that it is a vocative.[2][3][4] ⟨Pollūx⟩ comes, through Etruscan, from Ancient Greek Πολυδεύκης (Poludeúkēs).[5][1] The longer oath edepol contains it.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it in tragedy only in Livius Andronicus and Ennius, whose speaker says pol mihi fortūna magis nunc dēfit quam genus, “by Pollux, I now lack fortune more than birth”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is an oath that strengthens a statement, “by Pollux!, truly!”, and belongs to comedy, where Plautus and Terence use it often.[2][3] It is common in replies, agreeing or contradicting: asked whether he is not ashamed, a husband in Plautus answers pol, if nothing else he is ashamed of his wife.[3] It joins other affirming words, as pol profectō, certē pol, sānē pol and pol vērō.[4] Outside comedy it is rare: once each in Ennius' Annals and Cicero's De oratore, twice in Horace's Epistles.[3]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus in tragedy.[3][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, often, in replies.[3][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence.[3][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace, twice in the Epistles.[3][4][5]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. By Pollux!, truly!, indeed![2][1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pol.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pol. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·