polar

/ˈpoʊlər/

/ˈpʌʊlə/

Other forms: polarly

The idea of polar suggests equal opposites. For example, the North and South Poles are at opposite ends of the planet, and both are equally glacial, or very cold, which, by the way, is another meaning of polar.

The English word polar derives from the Latin polus and the Greek polos, which means "axis." (See the connection with the North and South Poles?) The discovery of polar bears was first recorded in the mid-18th century, while the idea of "polar opposites" came about in 1832. The adjective polar is also used to describe something vitally important, an idea that came from the importance of Polaris, the North Star, which has always been a voyager’s guide.

Definitions of polar

1. adjective

   of or existing at or near a geographical pole or within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles
   “polar regions”

   synonyms:

   circumpolar

   located or found throughout a polar region

   Arctic, north-polar

   of or relating to the Arctic

   Antarctic, south-polar

   at or near the south pole

   antonyms:

   equatorial

   of or existing at or near the geographic equator

   pantropic, pantropical

   distributed throughout the tropics

   tropic, tropical

   relating to or situated in or characteristic of the tropics (the region on either side of the equator)
2. adjective

   located at or near or coming from the earth's poles
   “polar diameter”

   “polar zone”

   “a polar air mass”

   “Antarctica is the only polar continent”
3. adjective

   extremely cold
   “polar weather”

   synonyms: arctic, freezing, frigid, gelid, glacial, icy

   cold

   having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
4. adjective

   characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed
   “extreme and indefensible polar positions”

   synonyms: diametric, diametrical, opposite

   different

   unlike in nature, quality, form, or degree
5. adjective

   having a pair of equal and opposite charges
   synonyms:

   charged

   of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge
6. adjective

   being of crucial importance
   “the polar events of this study”

   “a polar principal”

   synonyms: pivotal

   crucial, important

   of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis