pool
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pool¹
- /puːl/ UK
- /pʉwl/ British, Southern, Standard
- [pʊwl] British, Southern, Standard
- /poːl/
- /pul/ Canada, US
- /pʉːl/ Australia, New Zealand
- [puːl] Australia, New Zealand
- /pʉl/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
Sounds like Poole, pull (accents with foot–goose merger or full–fool merger), pall, Paul (both in accents with fool–fall merger) · Rhymes with -uːl
Where it comes from
From Middle English pool, pole, pol, from Old English pōl (“pool”), from Proto-West Germanic pōl, from Proto-Germanic *pōlaz (“pool, pond”), from Proto-Indo-European *bōlos (“bog, marsh”).
Cognate with Scots puil (“pool”), Saterland Frisian Pol (“pool”), West Frisian poel (“pool”), Dutch poel (“pool”), German Low German Pohl, Pool, Pul (“pool”), German Pfuhl (“quagmire, mudhole”), Danish pøl (“puddle”), Swedish pöl (“puddle, pool”), Icelandic pollur (“puddle”), Lithuanian bala (“puddle”), Latvian bala (“a muddly, treeless depression”), Russian боло́то (bolóto, “swamp, bog, marsh”).
For the meaning development to a supply of resources compare typologically Russian пруд пруди́ (prud prudí) (< пруд (prud)).
noun pools · poole
- A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water. the pools of Solomon
- Any small body of standing or stagnant water; a puddle.
- Ellipsis of swimming pool
- A set of resources that are kept ready to use.
- Any group of like things.
- A small amount of liquid on a surface. a pool of blood
- A localized glow of light. He walked slowly, passing through one pool of light after another, his shadow running tall across the fronts of the barber shop, the Western Auto, the video-rental shop.
verb pools · pooling · pooled · poole
- To form a pool.
pool²
- /puːl/ UK
- /pʉwl/ British, Southern, Standard
- [pʊwl] British, Southern, Standard
- /poːl/
- /pul/ Canada, US
- /pʉːl/ Australia, New Zealand
- [puːl] Australia, New Zealand
- /pʉl/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
Sounds like Poole, pull (accents with foot–goose merger or full–fool merger), pall, Paul (both in accents with fool–fall merger) · Rhymes with -uːl
Where it comes from
1. From French poule (“collective stakes in a game”). The French word "poule" in this context is an abbreviation of "poulain, pouliche" (foal, filly), and referred to races with female horses under 3 years old. It then became used by punters to designate bets on that race, and started to be used from the racetrack to the stadiums.
2. The OED suggests that this may be a transferred use of poule (“hen”), which has been explained anecdotally as deriving from an old informal betting game in France - 'jeu de poule' - Game of Chicken (or Hen, literally) in which poule became synonymous with the combined money pot claimed by the winner.
noun pools · poole
- A supply of resources. The 4-BEP and 4-CEP stock is maintained in a common pool for both Chatham and South Eastern fast main-line services.
- A number of people when considered as a resource. dating pool
- A billiards game in which each player stakes a certain sum, the winner taking the whole; also, in public billiard rooms, a game in which the loser pays the entrance fee for all who engage in the game.
- A cue sport played on a pool table. There are 15 balls, 7 of one colour or solids, 7 of another color or stripes, and the black ball (also called the 8 ball). A player must pocket all their own colour balls and then the black ball in order to win. He plays pool at the billiard-houses, and may be seen engaged at cards and dominoes of forenoons.
- In rifle shooting, a contest in which each competitor pays a certain sum for every shot he makes, the net proceeds being divided among the winners.
-
A group of fencers taking part in a competition.
Similar: poule
-
A set of teams playing each other in the same division, while not during the same period playing any teams that belong to other sets in the division.
Similar: group
- Any gambling or commercial venture in which several persons join.
- The stake played for in certain games of cards, billiards, etc.; an aggregated stake to which each player has contributed a share; also, the receptacle for the stakes.
- A combination of persons contributing money to be used for the purpose of increasing or depressing the market price of stocks, grain, or other commodities; also, the aggregate of the sums so contributed. The pool took all the wheat offered below the limit.
- A set of players in quadrille etc.
- A mutual arrangement between competing lines, by which the receipts of all are aggregated, and then distributed pro rata according to agreement.
- An aggregation of properties or rights, belonging to different people in a community, in a common fund, to be charged with common liabilities.
verb pools · pooling · pooled · poole
- To put together; contribute to a common fund, on the basis of a mutual division of profits or losses; to make a common interest of. We must pool our resources.
- To combine or contribute with others, as for a commercial, speculative, or gambling transaction.
Pool³
Where it comes from
In all likelihood from the noun pool.
proper noun
- A village in Carn Brea parish, Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SW6641).
- Ellipsis of Pool-in-Wharfedale
- A civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, also known as Pool in Wharfedale.
- An unincorporated community in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States.
- A department of the Republic of the Congo.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: pond, puddle, kitty, syndicate, combine, consortium, pocket billiards, forebay, drainage, mere, cistern, catchment, gutter, fountain, river, watershed
Translations
Every language
noun body of water
| Español | poza, pileta, balsa |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 水池 shuǐchí, 池子 Chízi |
| Português | piscina |
| Français | étang, mare |
| Deutsch | Becken |
| Italiano | bacino, invaso |
| Ελληνικά | πισίνα pisína |
| Русский | бассе́йн basséjn, пруд prud |
| Tiếng Việt | bể |
| العربية | بِرْكَة birka |
| עברית | בְּרֵכָה brechá |
noun small body of standing or stagnant water; a puddle
| Español | charco |
|---|---|
| Português | poça |
| Français | flaque |
| Deutsch | Lache, Pfütze |
| Italiano | pozza, pozzanghera |
| Русский | лу́жа lúža |
| Tiếng Việt | vũng |
noun supply of resources
| Português | fundo |
|---|---|
| Français | réserve, pool, groupe |
| Deutsch | Fundus |
| Italiano | insieme, riserva, paniere |
| Русский | фонд fond, пул pul |
| עברית | מאגר |
verb verb
| Español | empozar, apozarse, encharcarse |
|---|
noun type of game at billiards
| Português | bilhar |
|---|
noun cue sport played on a pool table
| Español | billar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 포켓볼 poketbol |
| 日本語 | ポケットビリヤード poketto biriyādo, プール pūru |
| 中文 | 花式撞球 huāshì zhuàngqiú |
| Português | bilhar |
| Français | billard |
| Tiếng Việt | bi-a |
verb to put together
| Português | reunir |
|---|---|
| Français | réunir |
| Русский | объединять obʺjedinjatʹ, складывать skladyvatʹ |
verb to combine or contribute with others
| Português | unir esforços |
|---|---|
| Français | mettre en commun |
Talk about this word "pool." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pool. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pool. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pool "pool." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pool.Cite this
@misc{pool_2026,
title = {pool},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pool},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
