polenta 
made of hnrlio or ohesnut flowrr soked in watpr, 
mul then friilp in oyle or butter" (Florio. 1598), 
"barley-grotes. H meute much used in Italic 1 ' 
(Florin, 1611), now generally applied to porridge 
of miii/.i', < \,. polenta, polentum, peeled barley ; 
of. Or. -ii'/i/, tlir finest meal.] 1. Inltaly: (a) 
A porridge made of Indian meal (maize-meal), 
the principal food of the poorer people through- 
out large sections of the country. The meal IB 
yellow and not very flue, with a sharp granulated charac- 
ter. The porridge Is made very stiff, and usually poured 
nat while hot Into a flat pan about half an Inch deep. It 
Is cat with a string when partly cool. 
A kind of tneal called polenta made of Indian corn, which 
In very nourishing and agreeable. Smollett, Travels, xx. 
(ft) A porridge made of chestnut-meal, much 
used in autumn. 2. In France, a porridge 
made of barley-meal, not common except in 
the south. 
pole-pad (pol'pad), n. In artillery, a stuffed 
leather pad fixed on the end of the pole of a 
field-carriage to preserve the horses from in- 
jury. 
pole-piece (liol'pes), n. A mass of iron form- 
ing the end of an electromagnet, by means of 
which the lines of magnetic force are concen- 
trated and directed. In dynamos the pole-pieces 
are shaped so as to Inclose the surface In which the arma- 
ture revolves. 
pole-plate (pol'plat), n. In building, a small 
wall-plate resting on the ends of the tie-beams 
of a roof, and supporting the lower ends of the 
common rafters. 
pole-prop (pol'prop), n. In artillery, a short 
rod or bar fastened under the pole of a gun- 
carriage, to support it when the horses are un- 
hitched. 
pole-rack (pol'rak), M. In ttnniiiig, dyeing, and 
other industries, a rack which supports the 
poles on which articles are suspended or laid 
for drying, draining, etc. 
pole-rash (pol'rush), n. The bulrush, Seirptix 
laeuxtrix. Also pool-rush. [Prov. Eng.] 
pole-sling (poT sling), . A pole, about twenty- 
five feet long, from which are suspended a lea- 
ther seat and a board for the feet, carried by 
two or more bearers : used for traveling in 
I)ahome_y. A*. A. Rev., CXLV. 361. 
pole-staff (pol'staf), n. The pole of a net. 
pole-Star (pol'star), . 1. The star Polaris, of 
the second magnitude, situated near the north 
pole of the heavens. It served in former times, and 
still nerves among primitive peoples as a guide in navi- 
gation. It is now about 1J" from the pole, very nearly in 
a line with the two xtarfl in the l>ipper (a and ft) which 
form the further edge of the howl. About r.,ooo years ago 
the pole-star was a Uraconis, and in aliout 12,000 it will 
he a Lyre. 
It is wel knowen (moste noble prince) that the starrc 
which we caule the pole gtarrr, or northe starre (cauled 
of the Italians Tramontane), is not the very poynte of the 
pole Artyke vppon the whiche the axes or extremities of 
heauens are turned ahowte. 
R. Kdrn. tr. of Peter Martyr (First Books on America, ed. 
[Arber, p. 00). 
2. Hence, that which serves as a guide or direc- 
tor: a lodestar. 3. In hinl., a polar star: one 
of the two stellate figures which may be borne 
upon the poles of the fusiform nucleus-spindle 
in the process of karyokinesis. 
pole-Strap (pol'strap), . A heavy strap for 
connecting a carriage-pole with the collar of a 
horse ; a pole-piece. See cut under harness. 
polete+, n. A Middle English form of }>nllet. 
pole-tip (pol'tip), n. A cylindrical cap fixed on 
the front end of the pole of a vehicle. 
pole-torpedo (pol'tor-pe'do), n. A torpedo pro- 
jected on the end of a pole, and operated from 
a boat or vessel : usually called xpnr-torpedo. 
pole-vault (pol'valt), n. A vault, generally 
over a horizontal bar, performed with the aid 
of a pole. 
pole-vaulting (pol'valt'ing), n. The act or 
practice of vaulting with the aid of a pole. 
pol-evilt, . An obsolete spelling of pnll-'i ;'. 
4592 
If It had been any other Iwast which kmirked me down 
hut that juttfii heifer, I H)IOU)I| have Iteen hurt. 
//. Kitiiidrii, Ueotfry Hamlyn, xxix. (Darin.) 
poleynt, . Seepoulaine. 
polhode (pol'hod), n. [Irreg. formed (by Poin- 
sot, in 1852) < Or. n6)of, axis, pole, + 5of, way, 
path.] A non-plane curve, the locus of the 
point of contact with an ellipsoid of a plane tan- 
gent at once to that surface and to a concentric 
sphere Associate of the polhode. the locus of the 
point of contact of a plane with an ellipsoid rolling upon 
It and having a fixed center; herpolhode. 
Polian (po'li-an), a. [< PoH (seedef.) + -an.] 
Described by or named from the Neapolitan 
naturalist Poli (1746-1825) Polian vesicles, c*- 
cal dlrertlcula of the circular vessel of the ambulacra! 
system of Kchinfxlrrttiiita. They are of the nature of ar- 
rested or abortive madreporic canals which have blind 
ends, and therefore do not place the cavity of the ambn- 
lacral system in communication with the perivisceral cav- 
ity of the animal. See cuta under IIiMJtvrinidea, Echi- 
noidea, and Synapta. 
polianite (pol'i-an-it), . [Named in allusion 
to its gray color. < Gr. To/.5r, gray, + -an- + 
-ite 2 .] Anhydrous manganese dioxid (MnO 2 ), 
a mineral of a light steel-gray color and hard- 
ness nearly equal to that of quartz. It crystal- 
lizes in tetragonal forms, and is Isomorphons with ruffle 
(Ti(> 2 ), casslterite (BnOiA and lircon (ZrO._.8iO 2 X It has 
often been confounded with the commoner mineral pyro- 
luslte. 
pplianthea (pol-i-an'the-a), n. [NL., < Gr. TO- 
/1'f, many, + avOof, flower.] A commonplace- 
book containing many flowers of eloquence, etc. 
Your reverence, to eke out your scrmonings, shall need 
repair to poHtils or paliantheax. 
Miltfm,n IJef. of Humb. Retnonst., Postscript 
Polianthes (pol-i-an'thez), n. [Also 1'olyan- 
tltcfi; NL. (Linnirus, 1737), from the pure-white 
flowers; = Sp. poliaxtes, < Gr. !ro?./oc, white, + 
niOof, flower.] A genus of ornamental plants 
policial 
mlsiion of such aa require any previous combination or 
arrangement. See detectire, conttabU. 
Time out of mind the military department has had a 
name; so has that of justice; the power which occupies 
Itself In preventing mischief, not till lately, and that but 
a loose one, the police. 
Rfntham, In trod, to Morels and Legislation, ivl. 17, note 2. 
3. In the United States army, the act or process 
of policing (see police, v., 2) : a kind of fatigue 
duty : as, to go on police ; to do police, commis- 
sioners of police. Bee cmnmutioner. Military po- 
lice, (n) An organized body employed within an army to 
maintain civil order, as distinct from military discipline. 
() A civil police having a military organization. Such 
are the French gendarmerie, the sbirri of Italy, and the 
Irish constabulary. -Mounted police, a body of police 
who serve on horseback. Police board, in several of the 
I'nited States, a board constituted by the justices of the 
county for the control of county police, public buildings, 
roads, bridges, ferries, county funds, lunatics, paupers, va- 
grants, etc. Mur/rer, Justices' Practice. Police burgh. 
Sceimro*.- Police captain, in tome of the larger citlen 
of the I'nited State*, aa In -New York, a subordinate offl. 
cer In the police force having general charge of the mem- 
liers of the force serving in his precinct, and special pow> 
era of search and entry for purposes of search. Police 
commissioner, (a) .See commvuumer. <k) In Scotland, 
one of a body elected by the ratepayers to manage police 
affairs in burghs.- Police constable, a member of a 
police force; a policeman. Abbreviated P. C Police 
court, a court for the trial of offenders brought up on 
charges preferred by the police. Police Inspector, a 
superintendent or superior officer of police, or of a subor- 
dinate department therein. Police Jury, the designa- 
tion in Louisiana of the local authority in each parish 
(corresponding nearly to the board of supervisors of each 
county in many other States). Invested with the exercise of 
ordinary police powers within the limit* of the parish, 
such as prescribing regulations for ways, fences, cattle, 
taverns, drains, quarantine, support of the poor, etc. 
Police magistrate, a judge who presides at a police 
court. Police office. Same as police station. Police 
officer, a policeman ; a police constable. Police pow- 
er, in constitutional lair, in a comprehensive sense, the 
whole system of internal regulation of a state, by which 
the state seeks not only to preserve the public order 
and to prevent offenses against the state, but also to es- 
tablish for the intercourse of citizens with citizens those 
rules of good manners and good neighborhood which are 
of -the order AmargUfdeu and tribe Agarefe, 
characterized by the long undivided raceme 
bearing twin flowers with a prominent and in- eacn the uninterrupted e iijo ment of his own so far 
curved tube dilated upward into thick, spread- reasonably consistent with a Iike"enjoynien7of 5 rights*by 
ing lobes, by the conical ovary within the base others. (Cooley.) Definitions of the police ptneer must be 
taken subject to the condition that the State cannot. In its 
exercise, for any purpose whatever, encroach upon the 
powers of the general government, or rights granted or 
of the perianth, and by the short, erect, tuber- 
ous rootstock. There are 3 species, natives of Mexico 
and Central America. They produce s tall unhranched 
wand-like stem, with a tuft of linear leaves at its base, and 
many showy fragrant white flowers clothing the upper por- 
tion, f. titbernm is the tuberose. 
police (po-leV), H. [< F. police = Sp.iwIMa = 
Pg. policin = It. ]>oli:ia, piili-iti = P. policie, 
secured by the supreme law of the land, (flupremc Court 
of U. S.) The question as to what are the proper limits 
of the police power In the United States Is a judicial one, 
depending in each case upon the relation of the act In 
question to the situation of the people and the condition 
of the federal legislation. In a long and fluctuating line 
citizenship, government, the state, < n-o/^'rnr, a rier "> pe'ld'ers, etc., within the'llmits of the State (so far 
eiti/en <irci/tr n citv Cf nnlti-iA nnlitu 1 1 s not Interfering with Interstate commerce or an equality 
Citizen, <, rftf, at it\ . Cf. )>ol,c>/>, polity ] 1. of freedom x laws prohibiting and abating nuisances, pro- 
iibhc order; the regulation of a country or hibiting lotteries, the sale of adulterated and simulated 
district with reference to the maintenance of food-products, and the manufacture and sale of intoxlcat- 
order; more specifically, the power of each ln(t l '<l uor ". hnt " ot , however, the sale In the original 
state when exercised (either directly by its ^^^^^S^^SS^SK 
legislature or through its municipalities) for compared with those within It.- Police rate, a tax levied 
for the purposes of the police. (Britl- Police sergeant, 
a petty officer of police. Police station, the station or 
headquarters of the police force In a municipality or dis- 
trict thereof, usually, if not always, containing a lock-up 
for the temporary detention of accused or suspected per- 
sons, and accommodations for officers and magistrate. 
Mto police office. Prefect Of police. See prefect. 
the suppression or regulation of whatever is 
injurious to the peace, health, morality, gen- 
ernl intelligence, and thrift of the community, 
and its internal safety. In its most common accep- 
tation, the police signifies the administration of the muni- 
cipal laws and regulations of a city or Incorporated town r ,_. ,. 
or borough by a corps of administrative or executive offl- police (po-les'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. jiolicfd, pnr. 
cers, with the necessary magistrates for the immediate no ljcini' f< nn/iVv 1 1 To war Mi , 
use of force in compelling obedience and punishing vio- * ICC, n.) I lo watcfi, guar.1. 
latlon of the laws, as distinguished from Judicial remedies or maintain order in ; protect or control by 
by action, etc. The_ primary object of the police system means of a body of policemen: as, to police a 
district ; topolicetbe inland waters of a country. 
Princes . . . are as It were inforced to ... entend to 
the right poUicing of their states, and haue not one honre 
to bestow vpon any other ciulll or delectable Art 
Pvttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesle, p. 30. 
From the wilds she came 
To policed cities and protected plains. 
Thomffin, Liberty, Iv. 
2. To clean up; clear out; put in order: as, 
Is the prevention of crime and the pursuit of offenders; 
but It Is also subservient to other purposes, such as the 
suppression of mendicancy, the preservation of order, the 
removal of obstructions and nuisances, and the enforcing 
of those local and general laws which relate to the public 
health, order, safety, and comfort 
I'.nt here are no Idle young Fellows and Wenches beg- 
ging about the Streets, as with you In London, to the Dis- 
grace of all Order, and, as the French call it, 1'nliee. 
fiurt, Letters from the North of Scotland (1720), quoted In 
(N. and tj., 7th ser., IV. 340. 
. 
fsv/i-wui. ^ vwowicM- npt7iiiij ui y/./if-tn**. 
poleward, polewards (pol'ward, -wSrdz), a<lr 
[< /<'-' + -Kuril, -irnrdn."} "Toward the pol< 
(either north or south). 
The waters at the equator, and near the equator, would 
produce steam of greater elasticity, rarity, and tempera- 
ture than that which occupies the regions further pole- 
irard*. WhetreU. 
polewig (ppl'wig). n. A flsh, the spotted goby, 
lliiliiiix Miiiiuliix, which inlmliits I'.ritisli aiicl 
iiiMghltoriiif; shores, u Is of a transparent golden- 
a color, with a multitude of tiny black dots np.m tln> 
. and generally marked with (lark blotches upon the 
side* and a black spot on the dorsal tin. Also called ; v- 
bait. (Prov. Eng.] 
poley't, n. An obsolete form of ;>///. 
poley 2 (po'li), a. [For polly, < polft + -.1/1.] 
Without horns; polled. [Eng.] 
i the centre of a high police, which radiated to 
twards, to Britain westwards, hut not of a high 
on. De Qvincey, Phllos. of Koman Hist 
u here Church and State are habitually associated, It Is 
natural that minds even of a high order should uncon- 
sciously come to regard religion as only a subtler mode of 
police. l.:ii,'ll, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 77. 
(po-les 'man), n. ; pi. j 
One of the ordinary police, whose 
duty it usually is to patrol a certain beat for a 
fixed period, for the protection of property and 
for the arrest of offenders, and to sec Unit the 
peace is kept. 2. In entom., a soldier-ant. 
2. An organized civil force for maintaining or- fascoc. 3. In ciMil-miiiinH. a wood or iron 
der, preventing and detecting crime, and en- guard around or covering the mouth of a pit, 
forcing the laws; the body of men by whom the or placed at mid- workings. 4. A kind of swab, 
municipal laws and regulations of a city, incor- " H<1 d ' or cleaning vinls, etc., made by slipping 
porated town or borough, or rural district are n P'e<"e of rubber lulling over the end of a glass 
enforced. A police force may be either open or scent ""' 
An open police Is a body of officers dressed In uniform, police-nippers (po-les nip'erz), n. />!. Hiind- 
and nown to everybody; a secret police consists of offi- cuffs or foot-shackles. Compare ntunrrl, 5 (i). 
cers whom It may be difficult or impossible to distinguish rmano- 1 
from ordinary citizens, the dress and manners of whom ,111, - , v/ i, r T> 
they may think It expedient to assume. In order that they POllCial ( po-lish all, n. [= Pg. policial ; < /,',/ 
may the more easily detect crimes, or prevent the com- + -al.] Of or pertaining to the police. [Rare.] 
