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To hunt down the mysterious origins of the "polka dots," we hit all the usual suspects: The Word Detective, The Straight Dope, and the intriguing trivia resource Mindless Crap. They all told us the same thing -- follow the polka. In the 19th century, polka dancing enjoyed an immense popularity that lasted over 50 years. Europe and America went crazy for the exciting new dance that featured actual physical contact between the opposite sexes. Polka rags were all the rage, and the "Rail Splitter Polka" was composed for President Lincoln's inauguration.
The result? Folks cashed in. There were polka hats, polka socks, polka curtains, and polka dots. Which isn't to say that the aforementioned hats, socks, and curtains were covered in dots. It was just a fun, popular word to affix to a product. The dots just managed to outlive the polka fad. As for the word "polka" itself, a Yahoo! Reference entry suggests that it might come from the Polish for "Polish woman." Others suggest that it comes from the Czech word "pulka" for half, referring to the short, lively steps of the dance. Regardless of its etymology, the dots remain the same.
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