# pollen
## English
### Etymology

From Latin pollen (“fine flour”). Used by Linnaeus in the 18th century to describe the spores produced in the anthers of flowers.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈpɒlən/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈpɑlən/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɒlən
* Hyphenation: pol‧len

### Noun

pollen (usually uncountable, plural pollens)
* A fine, granular substance produced in flowers.
* (botany) Pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. [from mid 18th century]
** 2013 May–June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
* (obsolete) Fine powder in general, fine flour. [16th-century per OED]
** 1523–1525, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, Froissart's Chronicles‎, translation of original by Jean Froissart:and ther was good wyne of Gascoyne, […] as well of pollen, as of other vitailes

#### Derived terms

* I'm allergic to pollen
* pollen analysis
* pollenarious
* pollen basket
* pollen count
* pollen counter
* pollen grain
* polleniferous
* pollenize, pollenise
* pollenlike
* pollen mother cell
* pollen parent
* pollen sac
* pollen tube
* pollen vortex
* pollen wasp
* polleny
* pollination
* sporopollen

#### Related terms

* pollinate

#### Translations
### Verb

pollen (third-person singular simple present pollens, present participle pollening, simple past and past participle pollened)
* (transitive, poetic) To cover with, or as if with, pollen.

#### See also

* palyno-
* palynologic
* palynological
* palynologist
* palynology

## Danish
### Etymology

From Latin pollen.

### Noun

pollen n (singular definite pollenet, plural indefinite pollen)
* (botany) pollen

### References

* “pollen” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɔ.lə(n)/
* Hyphenation: pol‧len
* Rhymes: -ɔlən

### Etymology 1

From Latin pollen.

#### Noun

pollen n (uncountable)
* pollen

##### Usage notes

The common term in Dutch is stuifmeel. The term pollen is found in biology texts, but is furthermore in common use when identifying the causative agent of hay fever. In that sense, the word is often mistakenly construed as being plural (“Tranende, jeukende ogen en een loopneus: pollen zijn geen pretje”, Metro, 29 February 2016; “Er hangen al pollen in de lucht: hooikoortsseizoen is begonnen”, Het Laatste Nieuws, 10 January 2018; “Pollen kunnen nu al voor hooikoorts zorgen”, De Telegraaf, 22 December 2018).

##### Synonyms

* stuifmeel

### Etymology 2

From English poll.

#### Verb

pollen
* (computing) to poll, to periodically check the status of a device or variable

##### Conjugation
### Etymology 3
#### Noun

pollen
* plural of pol

## French
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin pollen.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɔ.lɛn/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

pollen m (plural pollens)
* pollen

#### Derived terms

* pollinique
* polliniser
** pollinisateur

#### See also

* palynologie
* palynologique
* palynologue

### Further reading

* “pollen”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Verb

pollen (weak, third-person singular present pollt, past tense pollte, past participle gepollt, auxiliary haben)
* (computing) to poll, to periodically check the status of a device or variable.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

## Latin
### Alternative forms

* pollis

### Etymology

Probably from a Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“flour, dust”); compare with Ancient Greek πάλη (pálē, “the finest meal; any fine dust”), as well as pulvis (though de Vaan is skeptical of the latter link).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈpol.len/, [ˈpɔlːʲɛn]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈpol.len/, [ˈpɔlːen]

### Noun

pollen n (genitive pollinis); third declension
* (literally) flour, especially fine flour, milldust
* (transferred sense) the (very) fine powder or dust of other things
    pollen piperisground pepper [lit. powder of pepper]
    pollen tūrisincense powder
    aliquid in pollen tundereto grind something into powder

#### Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

#### Synonyms

* (transferred sense: fine powder or dust): pulvis

#### Derived terms

* polenta
* pollināris (Classical Latin)
* pollinārium (New Latin)
* pollinārius (Classical Latin)
* pollinātus (Classical Latin)
* pollinicus (post-Classical)
* pollinium (New Latin)
* pollinivorus (New Latin)
* pollinōdium (New Latin)
* pollinoīdēs (New Latin)
* pollinōsus (New Latin)

#### Descendants

* Italian: polline
* Neapolitan: ponila (Taranto), ponnula (Lecce)
* Sardinian: poddine, poddini
* → Catalan: pol·len
* → English: pollen
* → French: pollen
* → German: Pollen
* → Portuguese: pólen
* → Romanian: polen
* → Spanish: polen

### References

* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “pollen, -inis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 477

### Further reading

* “pollen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “pollen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* pollĕn in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,195/1.
* Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “pollen”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 9: Placabilis–Pyxis, page 131
* Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “pŏllen”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 497

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Latin pollen.

### Noun

pollen n (definite singular pollenet)
* (botany) pollen

#### Related terms

* pollinere
* pollinering

### References

* “pollen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɔlːn̩/

### Etymology 1

From Latin pollen.

#### Noun

pollen n (definite singular pollenet)
* (botany) pollen

##### Related terms

* pollinere
* pollinering

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

pollen m
* definite singular of poll

### References

* “pollen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Swedish
### Noun

pollen n (uncountable)
* (botany) pollen

#### Derived terms

* pollenallergi (“pollen allergy”)
* pollenallergiker (“someone allergic to pollen”)

#### Related terms

* pollinera

### References

* pollen in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* pollen in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* pollen in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)