maypole

pronunciation

How to pronounce maypole in British English: UK [ˈmeɪpəʊl]word uk audio image

How to pronounce maypole in American English: US [ˈmeɪpoʊl] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    a vertical pole or post decorated with streamers that can be held by dancers celebrating May Day

Word Origin

maypole (n.)
"high striped pole decorated with flowers and ribbons for May Day merrymakers to dance around," attested from 1550s but certainly much older, as the first mention of it is in an ordinance banning them, and there are references to such erections, though not by this name, from a mid-14c. Welsh poem. See May Day.