Marco Polo

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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After Marco Polo (1254–1324), Venetian merchant, whose travels were documented in a book that introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. The Italian name is from Latin Marcus + Paulus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmɑɹkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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Marco Polo (countable and uncountable, plural Marco Polos)

  1. (countable) A renowned traveler.
    • 2004, Ross E. Dunn, chapter 1, in The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century[1], page 5:
      Ibn Battuta has inevitably been compared with him and has usually taken second prize as "the Marco Polo of the Muslim world" or "the Marco Polo of the tropics"
    • 2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3:
      Gene Hunt: Come on, then, Marco Polo. Which way?
      Sam Tyler: [consulting a blueprint] It's this way.
  2. (uncountable, games) A hunting gameusually played in a swimming pool—where the seeker moves with closed eyes or blindfolded, finding the other players by calling "Marco" and reacting to the other players' replies of "Polo".
    Coordinate terms: Marco, marco, Polo, polo