Meanings
plural frogpoles
- A young frog in the stage of development after tadpole and before froglet.
We followed tadpole development from tadpole - frogpole - froglet - frog over a period of eight weeks.
1999, Itasca at 90: A History in Memories: History of the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station as Told by Those who Remember it, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, page 205 more examples
Tadpoles and frogs were my next fancy; the intermediate stage known in the family as "frogpole" pleased me most.
1970, Blackwood's Magazine, volume 307, William Blackwood, page 547Since it could not feed because its digestive tract was incompletely transformed, its life as a “frogpole" lasted only a few weeks.
1972, William Etkin, Robert M. Devlin, Thomas G. Bouffard, A Biology of Human Concern, revised edition, Lippincott, →ISBN, page 358They determined different visual pigments in three developmental stages: in the tadpole (no matter whether legless or with hindlegs and almost fully developed forelegs), in the frogpole (the stage of almost completed metamorphosis), and finally in the adult frog (Section V,B,3,a).
1978 April 11, G. H. Bourne, J. F. Danielli, K.W. Jeon, International Review of Cytology: Volume 50, volume 50, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 128As they undergo the transformation of metamorphosis from tadpole to adult, there comes an awkward juvenile stage that for frogs has been called “froglet” or “toadlet”, and even “frogiwog” or “frogpole." First the rear legs appear, then the front limbs. The tail and gills are absorbed for food and lungs develop; now the tadpole surfaces for air.
1997, Michael J. Caduto, Joseph Bruchac, “The Woman Who Married A Frog”, in Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children, illustrated, reprint edition, Fulcrum Publishing, →ISBN, page 111Frogpole At about ten weeks, the tadpole has grown front legs. Its tail is getting shorter, and it's starting to look like a frog.
2001, What's the Difference?, Learning Media Ltd, →ISBN, page 29
Origin
Cite this entry
frogpole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frogpole
“frogpole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frogpole. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frogpole,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frogpole.
Source: frogpole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.