negative pole
- noun
- Specialized
:
polo negativo
- The negative pole is often marked with a minus sign on batteries and electrical diagrams.
Examples
-
When using a compass, the negative pole of the needle aligns with the Earth's south magnetic pole.
-
The negative pole is crucial for navigation.
-
If you bring the negative pole of one magnet close to the positive pole of another, they attract.
-
Where is the negative pole located?
-
When the magnet was suspended freely, the negative pole faced south.
-
In a magnet, the negative pole attracts the positive pole of another magnet.
-
The negative pole of the magnet is essential for demonstrating magnetic fields.
Synonyms
The end of a magnet that points toward the Earth's south
The end of a magnet that points toward the Earth's south when it hangs freely
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'negative' (having negative charge or potential) modifies 'pole' (an end/terminal of a battery or magnet), so the phrase straightforwardly denotes the battery terminal with negative potential. This is a standard technical label following transparent adjective+noun composition (and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Negative pole: The noun negative pole comes from the picture of a magnet pole that points toward the Earth's south, so people called it the 'south-seeking pole'. That's why negative pole means the magnet end that points to the south.
