Pollyanna

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See also: pollyanna

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˌpɒliˈænə/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ænə

Etymology 1[edit]

Polly +‎ Anna

Alternative forms[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Pollyanna

  1. A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.
    • 2014, Dot and the Waves, page 10‎[1]:
      Pollyanna Pocket was small, with long floppy ears and a tail that coiled upwards in a little ringlet. She was a bouncy, happy young dog, who frolicked all day

Etymology 2[edit]

From the name of the protagonist in the 1913 novel Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter.

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)

  1. One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
    You call her an optimist, but I call her an obnoxious Pollyanna.
    • 1930, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin (lyrics and music), “But Not for Me”, performed by Ginger Rogers:
      I never wanna hear / From any cheerful Pollyannas / Who tell you Fate supplies a mate / It's all bananas
    • 2017 November 12, Miranda Sawyer, “Björk: ‘People miss the jokes. A lot of it is me taking the piss out of myself’”, in The Guardian‎[2]:
      ‘Next time we’re going to have fun, OK?’ I wanted this album to go towards the light. You indulge in the grief to a certain point, but then you have to be a little bit Pollyanna.”
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun[edit]

Pollyanna (plural Pollyannas)

  1. (colloquial, Mid-Atlantic US, Southeastern Pennsylvania) A secret Santa gift exchange.

Further reading[edit]

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