policial 
It thus happened that he found himself the cynosure 
of the policial eyes. Poe, Tales, I. 215. 
policiant, n. [Early mod. E., written politieii : 
< OF. policien, a public man, a statesman, < 
/xilirie, police, government, policy: see police, 
pottoyl.T An officer of state. I'littenlniin, Arte 
of Eug. Poesie, p. 122. 
policlinic (pol-i-kliu'ik), n. [= G. poliklinik; as 
Gr. Tro/Uf, city, + E. clinic. Sometimes written 
fiolyclinic (= Y.polyclinique), as if 'a clinic for 
many': as Gr. 7ro/.i>f, many, + E. clinic.] A 
general city hospital or dispensary. 
policy 1 (pol'i-si), . [Early mod. E. also policie, 
/Kill trie; < ME. policie, < OF. politic, < L. po- 
litia, < Gr. notj.reia, polity: see police, polity.] 
If. Polity; administration; public business. 
In alle governaunce and policye. 
Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale, 1. 138. 
2. Object or course of conduct, or the principle 
or body of principles to be observed in conduct ; 
specifically, the system of measures or the line 
of conduct which a ruler, minister, government, 
or party adopts and pursues as best for the in- 
terests of the country, as regards its foreign or 
its domestic affairs : as, a spirited foreign poli- 
cy; the commercial policy of the United States ; 
a policy of peace ; public policy. 
As he is a Spirit, vnseen he sees 
The plots of Princes, and their Policies. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, I. 1. 
This was the Serpents policie at first, Balaams policie af- 
ter, Babels policy now. Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 88. 
The legislation and \ policy of Mary were directed to up- 
root everything that Edward VI. had originated. 
Stubbi, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. :;--_'. 
3. Prudence or wisdom in action, whether pub- 
lic or private ; especially, worldly wisdom : as, 
honesty is the best policy. 
That maner of inlurie whlche Is done with fraude and 
deceyte is at this present tymc so oommunely practised 
that, if it be but a little, it is called policie. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Covernour, lii. 4. 
In these days 'tis counted jxillicie 
To vse dissimulation. 
Time* Whittle (E. E. T. S.), p. 94. 
It is my Policy at this time to thank you most heartily 
for your late copious Letter, to draw on a second. 
Ilouvll, Letters, I. il. 9. 
The politic nature of vice must be opposed by policy. 
Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., i. 18. 
4. In Scotland, the pleasure-grounds around a 
nobleman's or gentleman's country house. [In 
this use Its primary sense is 'the place or tract within 
which one has authority to administer ntfairs.'] 
My father is just as fond of his policy and his gardens; 
but it 's too little for a policy, and it '- more than a garden. 
Mrg. Oliphant, Joyce, xvii. 
Policy of pourboire. See pourboire. Policy of the 
law. See fowl. =Syn. j and 3. Policy, Polity, address, 
shrewdness. Polity is now confined to the constitution 
or structure of a government. It may be used of civil 
government, but is more often used of ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment : as, Hooker's " Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity " ; 
Congregational or Presbyterian polity. Policy has the 
sense of the management of public aJTairs : as, a certain 
bequest is pronounced invalid by the courts as being con- 
trary to public policy. Polity has neither a narrower nor 
a lower sense ; policy has both. The narrower sense of 
policy is system of management, especially wise manage- 
ment; the lower sense is cunning or worldly wisdom. 
The Pope's poKcy was to have two Italian interesU which 
could be set against one another, at the pleasure of the 
Roman See, which thus secured its own safety and influ- 
ence. Woolsey, Introd. to Inter. Law, $ 44. 
Protestantism may be described as that kind of religious 
imlitii which is based upon the conception of individual 
responsibility for opinion. ./. /'/.-*-, Evolutionist, p. 264. 
Public policy. See public. 
policy 1 ! (pol'i-si), r. t. [=Pg.policiar; <policyl, 
.] To reduce to order; regulate by laws; 
police. 
It is a just cause of war for another nation, that is civil 
or pdicied to subdue them. Bacon, Holy War. 
Towards the policying and perpetuating of this your new 
Republic, there must be some special Rules for regulating 
of Marriage. //...-.", Letters, iv. 7. 
policy 2 (pol'i-si), .; pi. policies (-siz). [< F. 
/in/ice, a bill, policy, = Sp. p6li:a, a written or- 
der, policy, = Pg. apolice, policy, = It. polizza, 
a note, bill, ticket, lottery-ticket, policy, = Sw. 
pollet, a ticket, < ML. politicvm, poletum, pole- 
ticuui, polrrticHiii. polegium, prop, polyjilychiim 
( Uj.polyptycha, pi. ), a register, < Gr. Ko/.iim<x<>, 
neut. of ToAiiTrrvj-of, with many folds or leaves, < 
To/.iif, many, + Trri'f (irrvx-), fold, leaf, < irriu- 
aeiv, fold. Cf. tlipti/ch, etc.] 1. A written con- 
tract by which a person, company, or party en- 
gages to pay a certain sum on certain contin- 
gencies, as in the case of fire or shipwreck, in 
the event of death, etc., on the condition of 
receiving a fixed sum or percentage on the 
amount of the risk, or certain periodical pay- 
ments. Sec insurance. 
4593 
A policy of insurance is a contract between A. and h. 
that, upon A.'s paylnga premium equivalent to the hazard 
run, B. will indemnify or Insure him against a particular 
event. Bladalane, Com., II. ux. 
2. A ticket or warrant for money in the pub- 
lic funds. [Eng.] 3. A form of gambling in 
which bets are made on numbers to be drawn 
by lottery. [U. S.] -Endowment policy. Seei- 
dourinent.- Open policy, a policy of Insurance in which 
the value of the ship or goods Insured is not fixed, but left 
to be ascertained In case of loss : or In which the subject 
of Insurance Is not limited, so that other things may be 
added from time to time. Time policy, a policy of in- 
surance in which the limits of the risk as regards time are 
clearly specified. Valued policy. See the quotation. 
A valued policy is one in which a value has been set 
upon the property or Interest insured, and inserted In the 
policy, the value thus agreed upon being In the nature 
of liquidated damages, and so saves any further proof of 
damages. Angell, on Int., f 5. 
Wagering policy, or wager policy, a pretended Insur- 
ance founded on an ideal risk, where the Insured has no 
interest in the thing Insured, and can therefore sustain 
no loss by the happening of any of the misfortunes in- 
sured against. Such insurances were often expressed by 
the words " interest or no interest. " Notwithstanding the 
general principle that Insurance Is acontract of Indemnity, 
such policies came In England to be held as legal contracts 
at common law ; and the gambling thus legalized became 
so prevalent and injurious tliat wager policies, as above 
defined, were prohibited by statute V.I Oeo. III., c. 37, and 
are generally invalid in the United States. 
Wayer Policie* are such as are " founded upon a mere 
hope and expectation, and without some Interest," and 
"are objectionable as a species of gaming." 
Anyell, on Ins., t 55, p. 90. 
policy-book (pol'i-si-buk), M. In an insurance- 
office, a book in which the policies issued are 
entered or recorded. 
policy-holder (pol'i-si-hol'der), . One who 
holds a policy or contract of insurance. 
policy-shop (pol'i-si-shop), . A place for gam- 
bling by betting on the drawing of certain num- 
bers in a lottery. [U. S.] 
policy-slip (pol'i-si-slip), n. The ticket given 
on a stake of money at a policy-shop. [U. S.] 
poliencephalitis (pol'l-en-sef-a-U'tis), M. 
[NL.. < Gr. tro'/.ior, gray. + r; ntfa'/M;, the brain, + 
-iti*.] Inflammation of the gray matter of the 
lirain: applied to inflammation of the nuclei of 
origin of cranial nerves, and also to inflamma- 
tion of the cortex. Also polioencej>halitis Poll- 
encephalitis Inferior. Same as prtiyreimrc bulbar pa- 
ralyxw. See paralyni. Poliencephalitis superior. 
Same as ophthalnutplei.ria proyrtiuipa. See ophthalmuplei/ia. 
poligar (pol'i-giir), 11. [AlsopoKgar,polygar, 
ete. ; < Cauarese iHllffldrn, Teliigu palcydtiu, 
Mara! hi pdlciidr, Tamil jiulaiyakdran, a petty 
chieftain.] Originally, a subordinate feudal 
chief, generally of predatory habits, occupying 
tracts more or less wild in the presidency of 
Madras, India, ora follower of such achieftain; 
now, nearly the same as :rniiiidar. Yule ami 
Burnett. 
poling (po'ling), H. [Verbal n. of pole 1 , r.] 1. 
The act of using a pole for any purpose. 2. 
A process used in toughening copper, it con- 
sists In plunging a long pole of green wood (birch Is pre- 
ferred) Into the fused metal on the floor of the refiniug 
furnace. This process reduces the oxld which the re- 
fined metal still holds, and brings the copper to what is 
called "tough pitch," or to the highest attainable degree 
of malleability. A somewhat similar process, known by 
the same name, is employed in the refining of tin. 
3. In hort., the operation of scattering worm- 
casts on garden- walks with poles. 4. The 
boards (collectively) used to line the inside of 
a tunnel during its construction, to prevent 
the falling of the earth or other loose material. 
5. Cramming for examination ; hard study. 
[College slang. U. S.] 
polioSncephalitis (ppl'i-o-eu-sef-a-li'tis), . 
Same as polieiicephalitu. 
poliomyelepathy (pol'i-o-mi-e-lep'a-thi), n. 
.] Disease of the gray matter of the 
spinal cord. 
poliomyelitis (pol'i-o-mi-e-H'tis), . [NL., < 
Gr. To/jof. gray, + //tie/or, marrow, -r- -i7ix.] 
Inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal 
cord. Anterior poliomyelitis, Inflammation of the 
anterior horns of the gray matter of the spinal cord. In 
children called infantile paralyiii. 
Polioptila (pol-i-op'ti-la), . [NL. (Sclater, 
1854), < Gr. vohof, gray", + Trri'Aw, wing, = E. 
feather.] An isolated genus of oscine passer- 
ine birds, typical of the subfamily Polioptilitur ; 
the American gnatcatcbers: so called from 
the hoary edgings of the wings, p. arrulea is the 
blue-gray gnateatcher, a very common small migratory 
insectivorous bird of eastern parts of the I'nited States 
and Canada. P. plumbea inhabits the southwestern United 
States. P. melanura and about ten others are found in 
wanner parts of America. Also called Culicicora. See 
cut under ynatcotcher. 
polish 
Polioptilinae (pol-i-p-ti-li'ne), u. pi. [NL. 
(Sclater, 18(52), < I'olioptila + -in.J A sub- 
family of birds, represented by the genus Po- 
lioptila, formerly referred to the Paridte, now 
associated with the sylviine I'lixneret. The bill 
Is musclcsplne, with well-developed rictal bristles and ex- 
posed nostrils ; the tarsi are scutellate : the toes are short ; 
the primaries are ten, tile first of which Is spurious; the 
wings are rounded ; and the tail 1s graduated. The size 
is very small, and the coloration is bluish-gray above, white 
lii-loii'. the tail black, with white lateral feathers. 
poliorcetics (pol'i-or-se'tiks), n. [= F. jwlior- 
cetique, < Gr. iro}jopnrriK6{, concerning besieg- 
iug, < ->/(ik7/r;/r', taker of cities, < jrofaopiuii>, 
besiege, < miA/f, city, + fpnaf, fence, inclosure. j 
The art or science of besieging towns. De ','"'" 
cey. [Rare.] 
poliosis (pol-i-6'sis), n. [NL., < Gr. no'/Juatf, a 
making or becoming gray, < iroXjow, make gray, 
-II/IIK-, gray.] In /i '//>/., same as canitien. 
polipragmatickt, a. An obsolete form of poly- 
pragmatic. 
polish 1 (pol'ish), r. [< ME. poligclien, pollwchen, 
polyshfn, polncht'H, pulliclien, pulurheii, pul- 
schen = D.polijuten, (. OF. (and F. ipolisn-, stem of 
certain parts otjwlir (> MLG. polleren = MHG. 
jiolierea, polliert-n, bollieren, puliereit, palieren, 
pullieren, liallieren, Q. polieren = 8w. poleni 
= Dan. polere) = Sp. jiulir, OSp. polir = Pg. 
polir = It. polire, pulire, < L. polire, polish, 
make smooth. Cf. polite.'] I. frying. 1. To 
make smooth and glossy, as a surface of mar- 
ble, wood, etc., whether by rubbing or by coat- 
ing with varnish, etc., or in both ways. Polish- 
ing is often done with the object of bringing out the 
color and markings of the material, as of colored marble, 
agate, jasper, etc. , and richly veined wood. 
Bryght y-pullinfied yoitre table knyve, semely in *> ,,t to 
sene; 
And thy spones fayre y-wasche: ye wote welle what y 
meeune. llabcet Boot (E. E. T. s. ), p. 12u. 
The whiteness and smoothness of the excellent parget- 
ing was a thing I much observed, being almost as even 
and polithed as If It had been of marble. 
Epclitn, Diary, Rome, Nov. 10, 1044. 
2. Figuratively, to render smooth, regular, uni- 
form, etc.; remove roughness, inelegance, etc., 
from ; especially, to make elegant and polite. 
Rules will help, if they be laboured and polithed by prac- 
tice. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, il. 247. 
Such elegant entertainments as these would polM tile 
town into judgment in their gratifications. 
Steele, Spectator, >'o. 370. 
3. To beat; chastise; punish. [Slang.] To pol- 
ish Off, to finish off quickly, as a dinner, a contest, or an 
adversary, etc. (Slang. | 
I fell them (the Sepoys) in against the wall, and told 
some Sikhs who were handy to polM them of. This they 
did immediately, shooting and bayoneting them. 
1C. //. /.'*, Diary in India, II. :vtt. 
= Syn. 1. To burnish, furbish, brighten, rub up. 1 To 
civilize. 
II. intrans. 1. To become smooth; receive 
a gloss; take a smooth and glossy surface. 
A kind of steel . . . which would pulith almost as white 
and bright as silver. Bacon, Nat. Hist, f 849. 
2. Figuratively, to become smooth, regular, 
uniform, elegant, or polite. 
polish 1 (pol'ish), n. KpotoA', f.] 1. Smooth- 
ness of surface, produced either by friction or 
by the application of some varnish, or by both 
means combined. Poliih denotes a higher degree of 
smoothness than gloat, and often a smoothness produced 
by the application of some liquid, as distinguished from 
that produced by friction alone. 
Another prism of clearer glass and better polith seemed 
free from veins. A'etrton, Optlcks. 
It never seems to have occurred to Waller that It is the 
substance of what you polish, and not the polith it.-l(, 
that insures duration. Lowell, Study Windows, p. 396. 
2. A substance used to give smoothness or to 
help in giving smoothness to any surface. See 
French polish, rarnish-polixh, etc., below. 3. 
Smoothness; regularity; elegance; refinement; 
especially, elegance of style or manners. 
What are these wondrous civilizing arts, 
This Roman polith, and this smooth behaviour? 
Adtliton, Cato, L 4. 
As for external polith, or mere courtesy of manner, he 
never possessed more than a tolerably educated bear. 
Uaicthorne, Blithedale Romance, iv. 
Black polish, the highest polish of iron or steel or other 
non-precious metal. French polish, (a) A gloaay sur- 
face produced by shellac dissolved in alcohol or similar 
liquid, applied with abundant friction. (M A liquid ap- 
plication prepared by dissolving gum-shellac in alcohol, 
or an imitation of this. It Is applied with a sponge or 
rag, and the surface is then rubbed very thoroughly, tin 
operation being usually repeated two or three times.- 
Shoe-polish, a liquid or pasty compound which, when 
applied to the surface of leather and nibbed with a brush, 
imparts to the leather a black and polished surface.- 
Stove-polish, I'lnnibago, or a composition of which plum- 
bago U a considerable ingredient, which, when applied 
with IK.- n /In or u similar liquid, or with water, and brushed 
