*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of polo

From Balti پولو (polo, “ball”). Cognate with Tibetan པོ་ལོ (po lo), ཕོ་ལོང (pho long), སྤོ་ལོ (spo lo, “ball”).

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 5 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal. · The game of ice polo, one of the ancestors of ice hockey; a similar game played on the ice, or on a prepared floor, by players wearing skates. · A polo shirt.

verb

To play the game of polo.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Balti پولو (polo, “ball”). Cognate with Tibetan པོ་ལོ (po lo), ཕོ་ལོང (pho long), སྤོ་ལོ (spo lo, “ball”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "bft:پولو<id:ball>",
        "id": "ball game"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"ball\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Balti\", \"term\" : \"پولو\", \"lang\" : \"bft\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"polo\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"ball game\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"polo\" id=\"English:_ball_game\">"
    },
    {
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        "3": "پولو",
        "4": "",
        "5": "ball",
        "tr": "polo"
      },
      "expansion": "Balti پولو (polo, “ball”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "bo",
        "2": "པོ་ལོ"
      },
      "expansion": "Tibetan པོ་ལོ (po lo)"
    },
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      "name": "etymon",
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      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "پولو",
      "پولو#Balti"
    ],
    [
      "པོ་ལོ",
      "པོ་ལོ#Tibetan"
    ],
    [
      "ཕོ་ལོང",
      "ཕོ་ལོང#Tibetan"
    ],
    [
      "སྤོ་ལོ",
      "སྤོ་ལོ#Tibetan"
    ]
  ],
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        "The game of ice polo, one of the ancestors of ice hockey; a similar game played on the ice, or on a prepared floor, by players wearing skates.",
        "A polo shirt."
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      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A Spanish gypsy dance characterized by energetic movements of the body while the feet merely shuffle or glide, with unison singing and rhythmic clapping of hands.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Spanish, an air or popular song in Andalusia.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A dress shirt.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Unknown.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "pos": "noun",
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      ],
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        "Philippines"
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

To give the cry of "polo!" in the marco polo game.

intj

Alternative letter-case form of Polo.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the game marco polo, from the explorer Marco Polo, from Latin Paulus.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  ],
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    [
      "marco polo",
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    ],
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      "Marco Polo",
      "Marco Polo#English"
    ],
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      "Paulus#Latin"
    ]
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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
noun

Synonym of pilaf.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Persian پلو (polov).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Persian پلو (polov)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "پلو",
      "پلو#Persian"
    ]
  ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cG9sbw