The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pole \Pole\, n. [Cf. G. Pole a Pole, Polen Poland.]
   A native or inhabitant of Poland; a Polander.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pole \Pole\, n. [As. p[=a]l, L. palus, akin to pangere to make
   fast. Cf. Pale a stake, Pact.]
   1. A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of
      timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been
      removed; as, specifically:
      (a) A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front
          axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which
          the carriage is guided and held back.
      (b) A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported.
      (c) A Maypole. See Maypole.
      (d) A barber's pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a
          sign by barbers and hairdressers.
      (e) A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines,
          are trained.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5?
      yards, or a square measure equal to 30? square yards; a
      rod; a perch. --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   Pole bean (Bot.), any kind of bean which is customarily
      trained on poles, as the scarlet runner or the Lima bean.


   Pole flounder (Zool.), a large deep-water flounder
      (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), native of the northern
      coasts of Europe and America, and much esteemed as a food
      fish; -- called also craig flounder, and pole fluke.


   Pole lathe, a simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a
      lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord
      passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle,
      and the other to an elastic pole above.

   Pole mast (Naut.), a mast formed from a single piece or
      from a single tree.

   Pole of a lens (Opt.), the point where the principal axis
      meets the surface.

   Pole plate (Arch.), a horizontal timber resting on the
      tiebeams of a roof and receiving the ends of the rafters.
      It differs from the plate in not resting on the wall.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pole \Pole\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poled; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Poling.]
   1. To furnish with poles for support; as, to pole beans or
      hops.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To convey on poles; as, to pole hay into a barn.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To impel by a pole or poles, as a boat.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pole \Pole\, n. [L. polus, Gr. ? a pivot or hinge on which
   anything turns, an axis, a pole; akin to ? to move: cf. F.
   p[^o]le.]
   1. Either extremity of an axis of a sphere; especially, one
      of the extremities of the earth's axis; as, the north
      pole.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Spherics) A point upon the surface of a sphere equally
      distant from every part of the circumference of a great
      circle; or the point in which a diameter of the sphere
      perpendicular to the plane of such circle meets the
      surface. Such a point is called the pole of that circle;
      as, the pole of the horizon; the pole of the ecliptic; the
      pole of a given meridian.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Physics) One of the opposite or contrasted parts or
      directions in which a polar force is manifested; a point
      of maximum intensity of a force which has two such points,
      or which has polarity; as, the poles of a magnet; the
      north pole of a needle.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The firmament; the sky. [Poetic]
      [1913 Webster]

            Shoots against the dusky pole.        --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Geom.) See Polarity, and Polar, n.
      [1913 Webster]

   Magnetic pole. See under Magnetic.

   Poles of the earth, or Terrestrial poles (Geog.), the two
      opposite points on the earth's surface through which its
      axis passes.

   Poles of the heavens, or Celestial poles, the two
      opposite points in the celestial sphere which coincide
      with the earth's axis produced, and about which the
      heavens appear to revolve.
      [1913 Webster] Poleax

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Rod \Rod\, n. [The same word as rood. See Rood.]
   1. A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender
      bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes).
      Specifically:
      (a) An instrument of punishment or correction;
          figuratively, chastisement.
          [1913 Webster]

                He that spareth his rod hateth his son. --Prov.
                                                  xiii. 24.
          [1913 Webster]
      (b) A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence,
          figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression.
          "The rod, and bird of peace." --Shak.
      (c) A support for a fishing line; a fish pole. --Gay.
      (d) (Mach. & Structure) A member used in tension, as for
          sustaining a suspended weight, or in tension and
          compression, as for transmitting reciprocating motion,
          etc.; a connecting bar.
      (e) An instrument for measuring.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. A measure of length containing sixteen and a half feet; --
      called also perch, and pole.
      [1913 Webster]

   Black rod. See in the Vocabulary.

   Rods and cones (Anat.), the elongated cells or elements of
      the sensory layer of the retina, some of which are
      cylindrical, others somewhat conical.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

pole
    n 1: a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
    2: a native or inhabitant of Poland
    3: one of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions; "they
       are at opposite poles"; "they are poles apart"
    4: a linear measure of 16.5 feet [syn: perch, rod, pole]
    5: a square rod of land [syn: perch, rod, pole]
    6: one of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the
       celestial sphere [syn: pole, celestial pole]
    7: one of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of
       rotation intersects the Earth's surface
    8: a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at
       which electric current enters or leaves [syn: terminal,
       pole]
    9: a long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting
    10: one of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to
        be concentrated [syn: pole, magnetic pole]
    v 1: propel with a pole; "pole barges on the river"; "We went
         punting in Cambridge" [syn: punt, pole]
    2: support on poles; "pole climbing plants like beans"
    3: deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

298 Moby Thesaurus words for "pole":
   China, Darkest Africa, God knows where, Greenland, Maypole, N pole,
   North Pole, Outer Mongolia, Pago Pago, Pillars of Hercules, S pole,
   Siberia, South Pole, Thule, Tierra del Fuego, Timbuktu,
   Ultima Thule, Yukon, acme, advance, all over, antenna tower,
   antipodal points, antipodes, antipoints, antipoles, apex, apogee,
   arbor, at odds, at opposite extremes, axis, axle, axle bar,
   axle shaft, axle spindle, axle-tree, baluster, balustrade,
   banister, bar, barbican, bare pole, base, beam, beanpole, belfry,
   bell tower, billet, bitter end, black and white, board, boarding,
   bottom dollar, boundary, bowl, brow, bunt, butt, butt end,
   campanile, cap, caryatid, clapboard, climax, cloud nine, colonnade,
   colossus, column, contraposita, contrapositives, contraries, cord,
   cordwood, counterpoles, crest, crown, culmen, culmination, cupola,
   dado, deal, derrick, die, distaff, dome, driftwood, drive, edge,
   end, everywhere, extreme, extreme limit, extremity, fag end,
   far and wide, farthest bound, fire tower, firewood, flagstaff,
   footstalk, forward, frontier, fulcrum, gimbal, godforsaken place,
   gudgeon, hardwood, heaven, heavens, height, high and low,
   high noon, highest pitch, highest point, hinge, hingle, hub, impel,
   irreconcilable, jack, jumping-off place, lantern, lath, lathing,
   lathwork, lighthouse, limit, log, lumber, magnetic axis,
   magnetic pole, mandrel, martello, martello tower, mast, maximum,
   meridian, minaret, monument, mountaintop, move, nave,
   ne plus ultra, negative pole, newel-post, nib, night and day,
   no place higher, noon, north pole, nowhere, oar, oarlock, obelisk,
   observation tower, opposite poles, opposites, outback, outer space,
   outpost, outskirts, paddle, pagoda, panelboard, paneling,
   panelwork, peak, pedal, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, pier,
   pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, pin, pinnacle, pintle, pitch,
   pivot, plank, planking, plinth, plyboard, plywood, point,
   polar opposites, polarity, polarization, poles, poles apart,
   positive pole, post, propel, puncheon, push, pylon, pyramid,
   queen-post, radiant, ridge, rod, roll, row, rowlock, scape, scull,
   seventh heaven, shaft, shake, sheathing, sheathing board, sheeting,
   shingle, shove, shunt, sideboard, siding, sky, skyscraper, slab,
   slat, socle, softwood, south pole, spar, spindle, spire, splat,
   staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, standpipe, stave,
   steeple, steering oar, stem, stick, stick of wood, stovewood, stub,
   stump, stupa, subbase, summit, surbase, sweep, sweep along, swivel,
   tag, tag end, tail, tail end, television mast, the Great Divide,
   the South Seas, the boondocks, the moon, the sticks, the tullies,
   three-by-four, thrust, timber, timbering, timberwork, tip, tip-top,
   tongue, top, tope, totem pole, tour, tower, treadle, tree, troll,
   trundle, trunk, trunnion, turret, two-by-four, upmost,
   upper extremity, uppermost, upright, utmost, vertex, very top,
   water tower, weatherboard, windmill tower, wood, worlds apart,
   zenith



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

POLE. A measure of length, equal to five yards and a half. Vide Measure.