polehead

noun7

1. •
   The portion of a mast above the crossbar that holds the sail, which sometimes support a flag or topsail.

   • The sketch is from a photograph, and shows one of these old type of vessels before a light wind, with a small square topsail set upon the polehead of her single lofty spar. — 1890
2. •
   The top of a flagpole.

   • They are not seen again until the camping-ground for the night is reached, when the four tents will be found pitched ready for us, with English and American flags flying at their poleheads. — 1880
3. •
   The top of any pole.
4. •
   A housing for wires that is attached to the top of a telephone pole or similar pole carrying power lines.

   • I think that the construction of a polehead to take care of the overhead ground wire is open to criticism. — 1908
5. •
   The front portion of the pole that attaches a coach or wagon to the team of horses that pulls it.

   • Pole pieces should, while controlling the polehead instantly, not be drawn so tight that the horses are jammed against the pole; nor should they dangle loosely about. — 1906
6. •
   An emblem, usually made of metal, that tops a pole which is carried by the steward or secretary of a rural British club or friendly society.

   • Unfortunately the Trent polehead cannot be traced, but the rules of the “Trent and Compton Friendly Society', founded in 1819, are in the County Record Office in Taunton. — 1969
7. •
   (dialect) A tadpole.

   • One significant polehead is that of a secretary of one of the Societies, and takes the form of a book, painted blue, with the word Society and the original silk tassles hanging down (colour plate 22). — 1989