pom
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɒm/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒm
Etymology 1
Australian from 1912.[1][2] Shortening of pomegranate, rhyming slang for immigrant (“imme-granate”), with additional reference to the fact that the harsh Australian sun could turn British immigrants' skin pomegranate red.
Noun
pom (plural poms)
- (Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, sometimes pejorative) An Englishman, a Briton; a person of British descent.
- 1987, Linda Christmas, The Ribbon and the Ragged Square: An Australian Journey, page 27,
- I could see more than mere humour in car stickers that read ‘Grow your own Dope: Plant a Pom’ ... ‘Keep Australia Beautiful: Shoot a Pom’.
- 1989, Tony Wheeler, Australia: A Travel Survival Kit, Lonely Planet, page 10,
- The prize for being Australia′s original pom goes to the enterprising pirate William Dampier, who made the first investigations ashore about 40 years after Tasman and nearly 100 years before Cook.
- 2008, Lawrence Booth, Cricket, Lovely Cricket?, page 214,
- At one stage a group called British People Against Racial Discrimination complained to the Advertising Standards Board in Australia about an advert for Tooheys beer that claimed it was ‘cold enough to scare a Pom’.
- 1987, Linda Christmas, The Ribbon and the Ragged Square: An Australian Journey, page 27,
Usage notes
The use of this word to refer to a British person is considered by some to be pejorative or offensive. The word is, however, used by many Australians and some British people as a neutral or even an affirmative term.
Derived terms
- pommy
- ten pound pom
- whinging pom
References
- 1998, Roger Robinson, Nelson Wattie, The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, page 445.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22378819
Etymology 2
Shortening of pomegranate.
Noun
pom (plural poms)
- (cocktail) An American alcoholic drink containing vodka and pomegranate juice.
Aromanian
Alternative forms
- pomu
Interlingue
Mauritian Creole
References
- Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. 1987. Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français
Romanian
Etymology
From Latin pōmus, from Proto-Italic *poomos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂po-h₁ém-os (“taken off”), from *h₂epo (“off”) + *h₁em- (“take”). See pomum.
Declension
White Hmong
Etymology
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *bu̯ət (“to see”). Cognate with Iu Mien buatc.
References
- Sue Murphy Mote, Hmong and American: Stories of Transition to a Strange Land →ISBN, 2004)
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