Polaroid: Meaning and Definition of

Po•lar•oid

1. a brand of material for producing polarized light from unpolarized light by dichroism, consisting typically of a stretched sheet of colorless plastic treated with an iodine solution so as to have long, thin, parallel chains of polymeric molecules containing conductive iodine atoms. It is used widely in optical and lighting devices to reduce glare.
2. Also calledthe first brand of instant camera, developed by Edwin H. Land and marketed since 1948.
3. Also calleda print made by such a camera.