polar

See also: pölar

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.

Proto-Indo-European *kʷól-os

Proto-Hellenic *pólos

Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos)bor.

Latin polus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin -āris

Late Latin polārislbor.

English polar

Learned borrowing from Late Latin polāris. By surface analysis, pole + -ar.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊ.lə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊlɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (Northwestern US, Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈpɔːlɝ]
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʉl.ə/, /ˈpɔul.ə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈpoləɾ/
• Rhymes: -əʊlə(ɹ), -oʊlə(ɹ)
• Homophones: Poehler, Polar

Adjective

polar (not comparable)

1. Of or having a pole or polarity, as:
   1. (geography) Of, relating to, measured from, or referred to a geographic pole (the North Pole or South Pole); within the Arctic or Antarctic circles.
      • 1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, →OCLC:

        After all, to go into outer space is not so much worse, if at all, than a polar expedition.

   2. (space sciences) Of an orbit that passes over, or near, one of these poles.
   3. (chemistry) Having a dipole; ionic.
   4. (mathematics) Of a coordinate system, specifying the location of a point in a plane by using a radius and an angle.
   5. (linguistics, of a question) Having but two possible answers, yes and no.
   6. (conceptual analysis) Of or relating to a pole (extreme) on any spectrum or field, such as an ideologically pure dogmatic position as opposed to any syncretic integration or balancing of competing principles.

      polar viewpoints

Derived terms

• ambipolar
• antipolar
• autopolar
• axipolar
• bipolar
• circumpolar
• contrapolar
• copolar
• decapolar
• dipolar
• electropolar
• epipolar
• equipolar
• extrapolar
• frontopolar
• grolar
• heteropolar
• hexadecapolar
• hexapolar
• homopolar
• interpolar
• intrapolar
• isopolar
• micropolar
• monopolar
• multipolar
• nonpolar, non-polar
• octapolar
• octopolar
• omnipolar
• peripolar
• pizzly
• polar antonym
• polar area diagram
• polar axis
• polar bar chart
• polar bear
• polar bear dip
• polar bear plunge
• polar bear swim
• polar body
• polar cap
• polar circle
• polar cod
• polar cone
• polar coordinates
• polar covalent bond
• polar desert
• polar dog
• polar equation
• polar fox
• polar ice
• polarisation
• polariscope
• polarise
• polarity
• polarization
• polarize
• polar lights
• polarly
• polar mesospheric cloud
• polar moment of inertia
• polar motion
• polar night
• polar nucleus
• polaron
• polaroplast
• polar opposite
• polar question
• polar star
• polar stratospheric cloud
• polar T3 syndrome
• polar vortex
• polar wander
• polarward
• polar willow
• polar wind
• polar wolf
• prizzly
• quadripolar
• semipolar
• space polar coordinate
• subpolar
• temporopolar
• tetrapolar
• transpolar
• tripolar
• unipolar

Translations

relating to a geographic pole

• Arabic: قُطْبِيّ (quṭbiyy)
• Armenian: բևեռային (hy) (beweṙayin)
• Belarusian: паля́рны (paljárny), по́люсны (póljusny)
• Bulgarian: поля́рен (bg) (poljáren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極地的 / 极地的 (zh) (jídì de)

• Czech: polární (cs)
• Esperanto: polusa, polara
• Finnish: napa-, napaseudun, napaseutu-, polaarinen (fi)
• French: polaire (fr)
• Galician: polar (gl)
• German: polar (de)
• Hindi: ध्रुवीय (hi) (dhruvīya)
• Icelandic: heimskauts-, heimskauta-, pól-, heimskautalegur m
• Ido: polara (io), polala (io)
• Ingrian: poljarnoi
• Kazakh: полярлық (polyarlıq)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: جەمسەری (cemserî)

• Macedonian: поларен (polaren)
• Manx: ^{(please verify)} ardoil
• Māori: mātaratara
• Persian: قطبی (fa) (qotbi)
• Polish: biegunowy (pl), polarny (pl)
• Russian: поля́рный (ru) (poljárnyj), по́люсный (ru) (póljusnyj)
• Slovak: polárny (sk)
• Spanish: polar (es)
• Ukrainian: поля́рний (poljárnyj), по́люсний (póljusnyj)

of an orbit passing near a geographic pole

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: napa- (fi), polaarinen (fi), polaari-
• Galician: polar (gl)
• German: polar (de)
• Polish: biegunowy (pl), polarny (pl)
• Spanish: polar (es)

having a dipole

• Bulgarian: поля́рен (bg) (poljáren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: poolinen, polaarinen (fi)
• Galician: polar (gl)
• German: polar (de)
• Polish: biegunowy (pl), polarny (pl)
• Spanish: polar (es)
• Swedish: polär (sv)
• Tagalog: taluktukin

of a certain coordinate system

• Armenian: բևեռային (hy) (beweṙayin)
• Bulgarian: поля́рен (bg) (poljáren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: polární (cs)
• Finnish: polaarinen (fi), napa- (fi)
• French: polaire (fr)
• Galician: polar (gl)
• German: polar (de)
• Polish: biegunowy (pl), polarny (pl)
• Russian: поля́рный (ru) (poljárnyj)
• Spanish: polar (es)
• Swedish: polär (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Greek: ^{(please verify)} πολικός -ή -ό (el) (polikós -í -ó)

Noun

polar (plural polars)

1. (geometry) The line joining the points of contact of tangents drawn to meet a curve from a point called the pole of the line.

Anagrams

• ROLAP, parol, poral

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [puˈlar]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [poˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poˈlaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [poˈlar]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

polar m or f (masculine and feminine plural polars)

1. polar

Derived terms

• os polar
• polaritat

Related terms

• pol

Further reading

• “polar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “polar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “polar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “polar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Danish

Etymology

From Latin polaris.

Adjective

polar (neuter polart, plural and definite singular attributive polare)

1. polar

Inflection

Inflection of polar

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite common singular	polar	—	—2
indefinite neuter singular	polart	—	—2
plural	polare	—	—2
definite attributive1	polare	—	—

¹ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
² The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Derived terms

• polarcirkel
• polaregn
• polarekspedition
• polareskimo
• polarforsker
• polarhare
• polarhav
• polaris
• polarisere
• polaritet
• polarklima
• polarkulde
• polarluft
• polarlys
• polarnat
• polarræv
• polarulv

See also

• polær
• pol

References

• “polar” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From pol(icier) +‎ -ard.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔ.laʁ/

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

Noun

polar m (plural polars)

1. (informal) detective novel

Further reading

• “polar”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poˈlaɾ/ [poˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: po‧lar

Adjective

polar m or f (plural polares)

1. polar

   Antonym: apolar

Further reading

• “polar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

German

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin polāris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poˈlaːɐ̯/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

polar (strong nominative masculine singular polarer, not comparable)

1. polar (pertaining to or associated with the polar regions)

Declension

Positive forms of polar (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist polar	sie ist polar	es ist polar	sie sind polar
strong declension (without article)	nominative	polarer	polare	polares	polare
	genitive	polaren	polarer	polaren	polarer
	dative	polarem	polarer	polarem	polaren
	accusative	polaren	polare	polares	polare
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der polare	die polare	das polare	die polaren
	genitive	des polaren	der polaren	des polaren	der polaren
	dative	dem polaren	der polaren	dem polaren	den polaren
	accusative	den polaren	die polare	das polare	die polaren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein polarer	eine polare	ein polares	(keine) polaren
	genitive	eines polaren	einer polaren	eines polaren	(keiner) polaren
	dative	einem polaren	einer polaren	einem polaren	(keinen) polaren
	accusative	einen polaren	eine polare	ein polares	(keine) polaren

Derived terms

• Polareis
• Polarfuchs
• Polargebiet
• Polarhase
• Polarkreis
• Polarlicht
• Polarluft
• Polarmeer
• Polarnacht
• Polarstern
• Polarwirbel

Related terms

• Pol
• Polarität

Further reading

• “polar”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)
• “polar” in Duden online

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from English polar, from Late Latin polāris.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈpolar/ [ˈpo.lar]
• Rhymes: -olar
• Syllabification: po‧lar

Adjective

polar (comparative lebih polar, superlative paling polar)

1. polar

Noun

polar (plural polar-polar)

1. pole
2. bran

Derived terms

• kepolaran
• keterpolaran

Related terms

• polarisasi
• polaritas

Further reading

• “polar”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From the noun pol.

Adjective

polar (neuter singular polart, definite singular and plural polare)

1. polar

Derived terms

• polarisere
• polarsirkel

References

• “polar” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From the noun pol.

Adjective

polar (neuter singular polart, definite singular and plural polare)

1. polar

Derived terms

• polarisere
• polarsirkel

Etymology 2

Noun

polar m

1. indefinite plural of pol

References

• “polar” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.lar/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlar
• Syllabification: po‧lar

Noun

polar m inan

1. fleece, polar fleece
2. garment made from polar fleece

Declension

Declension of polar

	singular	plural
nominative	polar	polary
genitive	polaru	polarów
dative	polarowi	polarom
accusative	polar	polary
instrumental	polarem	polarami
locative	polarze	polarach
vocative	polarze	polary

Derived terms

adjective

• polarowy

Further reading

• “polar”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “polar”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin polāris. By surface analysis, polo + -ar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /poˈlaʁ/ [poˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /poˈlaʁ/ [poˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /poˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /poˈlaʁ/ [poˈlaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /poˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /puˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /puˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /puˈla.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: po‧lar
• Homophone: (Portugal) pular

Adjective

polar m or f (plural polares)

1. polar

Derived terms

• apolar
• estrela polar
• polaridade
• polarizar
  • polarizado
  • polarizador
  • polarizante
• urso polar

Related terms

• polo

Further reading

• “polar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “polar”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “polar”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “polar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “polar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin polāris, Italian polare and French polaire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poˈlar/

Adjective

polar m or n (feminine singular polară, masculine plural polari, feminine/neuter plural polare)

1. polar

Declension

Declension of polar

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	polar		polară	polari	polare
	definite	polarul		polara	polarii	polarele
genitive- dative	indefinite	polar		polare	polari	polare
	definite	polarului		polarei	polarilor	polarelor

Derived terms

• urs polar

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poˈlaɾ/ [poˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: po‧lar

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.

Proto-Indo-European *kʷól-os

Proto-Hellenic *pólos

Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos)bor.

Latin polus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin -āris

Late Latin polārisder.

Spanish polar

Derived from Late Latin polāris. By surface analysis, polo + -ar.

Adjective

polar m or f (masculine and feminine plural polares)

1. polar

Derived terms

• apolar
• bipolar
• casquete polar
• círculo polar
• estrella polar
• forro polar
• oso polar
• polaridad
• polarizar
• salteador polar

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English polar fleece.

Adjective

polar m or f (masculine and feminine plural polares)

1. (Spain, textiles) fleecy

Noun

polar m (plural polares)

1. (Spain, textiles) a texture resembling or equal to polar fleece

Further reading

• “polar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Verb

polar

1. present indicative of pola