Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- having two poles, as the earth.
- of, relating to, or found at both polar regions.
- characterized by opposite extremes, as two conflicting political philosophies.
- Electronics. of or relating to a transistor that uses both positive and negative charge carriers.
- Psychiatry. of, relating to, or having bipolar disorder: His wife is bipolar.
adjective
- having two polesa bipolar dynamo; a bipolar neuron
- relating to or found at the North and South Poles
- having or characterized by two opposed opinions, natures, etc
- (of a transistor) utilizing both majority and minority charge carriers
- suffering from bipolar manic-depressive disorder
“having two poles,” from bi- + polar; 1810 with figurative sense of “of double aspect;” 1859 with reference to physiology. Psychiatric use in reference to what had been called manic-depressive psychosis is said to have begun 1957 with German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard. The term became popular early 1990s. Bipolar disorder was in DSM III (1980).
adj.
- Having two poles; used especially of nerve cells in which the branches project from two usually opposite points.
- Of or relating to both ends or poles of a bacterial or other cell.
- Of or relating to a major mood disorder that is characterized by episodes of mania and depression.
- Relating to or having two poles or charges.
- Relating to a semiconductor device, such as a transistor, that exploits the electrical characteristics of contact between two substances, one with an inherent positive charge, the other with an inherent negative charge.
- Relating to or involving both of the Earth’s polar regions.
- Relating to a neuron that has two processes or extremities.
- Relating to bipolar disorder.