tadpole C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary Also spelled tad-pole US /ˈtædpoʊl/ UK /ˈtædpəʊl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the aquatic larval stage of a frog or toad The children scooped tadpoles from the pond with a net. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the aquatic larval stage of... polliwogpollywog Word family Related forms toad Etymology AI details From Middle English taddepol, from tadde ('toad') + pol ('head, poll'), literally 'toad-head', referring to the creature's large rounded head. tāde Old English poll Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # tadpole **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈtædpoʊl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtædpəʊl/ ## Meanings 1. the aquatic larval stage of a frog or toad ## Examples - The children scooped tadpoles from the pond with a net. ## Synonyms - polliwog - pollywog ## Related Forms - toad ## Roots and Affixes - Root: tāde - Root: poll ## Etymology From Middle English taddepol, from tadde ('toad') + pol ('head, poll'), literally 'toad-head', referring to the creature's large rounded head. ## AI Etymology Tadpole is from Middle English taddepol, from tadde ('toad') + pol ('head, poll'), literally 'toad-head', referring to the creature's large rounded head. Important recorded forms include tāde (Old English) and poll (Middle English). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers the aquatic larval stage of a frog or toad. The wider family includes related words such as toad. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown