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

Simplified etymology

Tadpole combines an early form of toad with poll, a Middle English word meaning “head.” The name probably refers to the animal’s proportionally large and conspicuous head.

Etymology

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

# 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

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