poll: [13] ‘Head’ is the original and central meaning of poll, from which all its modern uses have derived. The ‘voting’ sort of poll, for instance, which emerged in the 17th century, is etymologically a counting of ‘heads’, and the poll tax is a ‘per capita’ tax. The verb poll originally meant ‘cut someone’s hair’, a clear extension of the notion of ‘top’ or ‘head’ (the derived pollard [16] denotes an ‘animal with its horns removed’ or a ‘tree with its top branches cut off’); this later developed to ‘cut evenly across’, which is what the poll of deed poll means (originally it was a legal agreement cut evenly across, signifying that only one person was party to it – agreements made between two or more people were cut with a wavy line). => pollard
poll (n.)
"head," early 14c., polle "hair of the head; piece of fur from the head of an animal," also "head," from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch pol "head, top." Sense extended early 14c. to "person, individual." Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1620s, from notion of "counting heads;" meaning "survey of public opinion" is first recorded 1902. Poll tax, literally "head tax," is from 1690s. Literal use in English tends toward the part of the head where the hair grows.
poll (v.1)
"to take the votes of," 1620s, from poll (n.). Related: Polled; polling. A deed poll "deed executed by one party only," is from earlier verbal meaning "cut the hair of," because the deed was cut straight rather than indented (see indent).
poll (v.2)
"to cut, trim," late 14c., "to cut short the hair" (of an animal or person), from poll (n.). Of trees or plants from 1570s. Related: Polled; polling.
Poll
fem. proper name, short for Polly. Noted from 1620s as a parrot's name.
雙語例句
1. He will have been heartened by the telephone opinion poll published yesterday.
他會為昨天公布的電話民意調查結果感到鼓舞。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The poll canvassed the views of almost eighty economists.
民意調查征詢了將近80位經濟學家的意見。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Labour was top of the poll with forty-six percent.
工黨以46%的得票數高居首位。
來自柯林斯例句
4. An independent opinion poll published today shows growing discontent with the government.
今天發表的一項獨立民意測驗表明民眾對政府的不滿正與日俱增。
來自柯林斯例句
5. A national poll shows the presidential race in a dead heat.