The most common explanation is that it's a reference to Australia's past as a convict colony. “Pom” is supposedly a bastardised acronym, meaning “prisoner of Mother England” or “prisoner of Her Majesty”.
' As a nation the Australians rarely use polysyllables when one will do and so pom became the pejorative name for a newly-arrived British immigrant. The Anzac Book of 1916 supported this theory, attributing 'Pom' as an abbreviation of pomegranate.
Pommy or pom
The terms pommy, pommie, and pom used in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand usually denote a British person. Newspapers in Australia were using the term by 1912.
pom (plural poms) (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, mildly derogatory slang) An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent.
(Originally applied to an immigrant from the British Isles.) The word pom has its origin in wordplay. An early, derisory term for an immigrant in Australia was the rhyming slang jimmygrant (sometimes written as Jimmy Grant), recorded in 1844.
So where does it come from? The English word pom-pom came about in the 18th century from the French word pompon, which referred to a small decorative ball made of fur, feathers, ribbon, wool or string.
The word pom-pom comes from the French word, Pompon. The French army used different pom-poms on hats to convey rank. Hats worn by highly ranked Catholic priests had pom-poms on them and were called Birettas.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts.
Yankee is sometimes abbreviated as “Yank.” People from all over the world, including Great Britain, Australia, and South America, use the term to describe Americans.
The most common British slang terms for rich are loaded, minted, and wadded. These are by far the most universal and commonly used slang terms in Britain meaning rich. You might hear others, such as “flush”. But for most Brits, “minted” or “loaded” are often more than adequate.
The term 'Pom' for an Englishman is used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The common explanation is that it is derived from 'pomegranate' - saying the British have red cheeks or 'Prisoner of Her Majesty'.
The Winjin' Pom (the name is a pun on the "whinging pom", an Aussie expression used to refer to a person of British origin who constantly complains about things he has to face) caravan is famous not only for talking but also for flying, something which occurs several episodes in after a hijack by The Crows.
Program Operations Manual System (POMS)
Effective Dates: 02/09/2012 - Present Previous | Next. TN 13 (02-12)
a British person, especially one who is a recent immigrant.
After Dutch navigators charted the northern, western and southern coasts of Australia during the 17th Century this newly found continent became known as 'New Holland'. It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who suggested the name we use today.
adjective. slang, Australia. : unquestionably good or genuine : excellent. often used as a general expression of approval. these cigars are fair dinkum.
A tiny bedroom may be called a boxroom or nursery. An additional bedroom intended for guests is called a guest room.
In the United Kingdom, terms in common usage include "supermarket" (for larger grocery stores), and "corner shop", "convenience shop", or "grocery" (meaning a grocery shop) for smaller stores. "Grocery store", being a North American term, is not used.
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as “New Holland”, a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland) and subsequently anglicized. Terra Australia still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts.
Pom-pom, also called a pom or cheerleading pom, is derived from the French word pompon, which refers to a small decorative ball made of fabric or feathers. It also means an "ornamental round tuft" and originally refers to its use on a hat, or an "ornamental tuft; tuft-like flower head."
The word “pom-pom” is said to have originated from the French word “pompon” during the 18th century. At this time, the imposing Hungarian cavalry known as the Hussars wore what was called a shako, or a tall structured cap, as part of their uniforms.
French sailors adding them to their hats so they wouldn't bang their head on the low ceilings of the ship when the waters got rough.