maypole

English

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maypole^¹

/ˈmeɪˌpoʊl/ US

Where it comes from

Compound of May + pole, so called in reference to its use on May Day.

noun maypoles · may-pole

A pole, garlanded with streamers held by people who dance around it to celebrate May Day. How would you like the maypole decorated?
idiomatic A very tall girl or young lady.
A maypole-like structure of sticks placed about a sapling in the bowers of certain species of bowerbird. The male Golden Bowerbird is a beautiful bird that builds one of the greatest structures in the natural world, a maypole up to three metres tall constructed of sticks and festooned with decorative clusters of flowers and lichens.
euphemistic A penis, especially a large one. and now, disengag'd from the shirt, I saw, with wonder and surprise, what? not the play-thing of a boy, not the weapon of a man, but a maypole of so enormous a standard, that had proportions been observ'd, it must have belong'd to a young giant.

verb maypoles · maypoling · maypoled · may-pole

To dance or spin in a circle around something. Kristina quieted a little, and maypoled around me.

Maypole^²

proper noun

A surname.
A settlement on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall (OS grid ref SV9211).
A settlement near the village of Chelsfield, borough of Bromley, Greater London (OS grid ref TQ4963).
A village in Dartford borough, Kent (OS grid ref TQ5173).
A settlement in Hoath parish, Canterbury district, Kent (OS grid ref TR2064).
A settlement in Whitecastle community, Monmouthshire, Wales (OS grid ref SO4716).

Translations

Every language

noun pole, garlanded with streamers held by people who dance around it to celebrate May Day

Español	mayo
Français	arbre de mai
Deutsch	Maibaum
العربية	عَمُود الرَّقْص ʕamūd ar-raqṣ

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MLA

"maypole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/maypole. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

maypole. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/maypole

Chicago

"maypole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/maypole.

BibTeX

@misc{maypole_2026,
  title = {maypole},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/maypole},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}