Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PO'LE-MARCH, n. [Gr. πολεμαρχος; πολεμος, war, and αρχη, rule, or αρχος, chief.]

1. Anciently, a magistrate of Athens and Thebes, who had under his care all strangers and sojourners in the city, and all children of parents who had lost their lives in the service of their country. – Encyc. Mitford.
2. A military officer in Lacedæmon.