Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • A country of central Europe bordering on the Baltic Sea. Unified as a kingdom in the 11th century, it enjoyed a golden age under the Jagiello dynasty (1386–1572) and was a major power in the 15th and 16th centuries. National independence was lost in 1697 and it was carved up among other states in three partitions (1772, 1793, and 1795). Poland then disappeared as a geographic entity until its reconstitution as a republic in 1918. Its present boundaries date from the end of World War II. Warsaw is the capital and the largest city.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A country in Central Europe. Official name: Republic of Poland.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a republic in central Europe; the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 started World War II

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the name of the West Slavic tribe Polans (in Polish: Polanie) from Old Slavic pole, precursor of Polish polje ("field").

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Examples

  • The book under review was FEAR: ANTI-SEMITISM IN POLAND AFTER AUSCHWITZ, and it tells the shocking story of how -- even after the Nazis had been defeated, and the concentration camps liberated -- a wave of killings, by ordinary Poles, of the remnant of the Jews still alive in Poland.

    Why "Good Will Toward Men" Has Become More of a Challenge for Me: My Christmas Thoughts 2006

  • POLAND - A pair of vandals on four-wheelers left a swath of destruction in Poland early

    Sun Journal top news 2010

  • POLAND - Three children from Poland Community School mark Androscoggin County's first confirmed cases of the swine flu.

    City 2009

  • POLAND THE LIST OF THE VICTIMS: Lech Kaczynski, The President of Poland Zbigniew Wassermann,

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • POLAND THE LIST OF THE VICTIMS: Lech Kaczynski, The President of Poland Zbigniew Wassermann,

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • POLAND THE LIST OF THE VICTIMS: Lech Kaczynski, The President of Poland Zbigniew Wassermann,

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • POLAND THE LIST OF THE VICTIMS: Lech Kaczynski, The President of Poland Zbigniew Wassermann,

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • Recent productions include the New York premiere of Lloyd Suh's AMERICAN HWANGAP (U.S.), U.S. premieres of Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's MADE IN POLAND (Poland); Robert Farquhar's BAD JAZZ (England); Vijay Tendulkar's SAKHARAM BINDER

    BroadwayWorld.com Tulsa Stories 2009

  • Recent productions include the New York premiere of Lloyd Suh's AMERICAN HWANGAP (U.S.), U.S. premieres of Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's MADE IN POLAND (Poland); Robert Farquhar's BAD JAZZ (England); Vijay Tendulkar's SAKHARAM BINDER

    BroadwayWorld.com Tulsa Stories 2009

  • However, I do not believe the gassing and cremation of several million people at giant camps in Poland is genocide.

    Matthew Yglesias » No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition 2010

Comments

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  • For more information about Poland, Polish-Americans, and Polish jokes, see the documentary film, Polack, at http://www.polackthefilm.com

    February 16, 2011