Why are people from England colloquially known as 'Poms', and is this only commonly used in Australia?

xfacilitatorx

Pom: The term Pommy for a British person is commonly used in Australian English and New Zealand English, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is uncertain. A number of fake etymologies have sprung up, mostly along the lines that POM is an acronym for "Prisoner of Mother England" or somesuch, referring to the fact that the earliest Australian settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation. None of these explanations bears up under scrutiny, and the use of acronyms is largely a late twentieth century phenomenon. A more likely etymology is that it is a contraction of "pomegranates", a red skinned fruit, which bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Englishman's skin after his first few days living under the hot Australian sun. The use of the word 'Pom' may be considered mildly derogatory - some may use it to cause offence, but it is also used in other situations as a friendly derogatory term among people who know each other well, if one of them is English and the other Australian. http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Alternative_words_for_British http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Alternative_words_for_British Mar 08 06, 5:33 PM

xfacilitatorx

Pom POM can stand for: an alternative word for British Polyoxymethylene, a common plastic polymer Pivaloyloxymethyl (CH3)3C-CO-O-CH2- functional group in organic chemistry Project Object Model - see for example the explanation in the Apache Maven page http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Pom http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Pom Mar 08 06, 5:34 PM

jimbo9

It dates back to when convicts were transported to the Colonies ie Australia. They were called "PRISONERS OF HIS MAJESTY POHM. Pronounced POMS. I have only ever heard Australians use this term. Mar 08 06, 5:39 PM

Baloo55th

I go along with Xfac on the unliklihood of acronyms that early. They are a fairly recent feature of the language becoming only a regular thing in the 20th Century - radar being an earlyish example. I do like the pomegranate explanation - has the true Australian ring to it. The prisoners were usually referred to as convicts, and Prisoner of His Majesty would apply to any prisoner. Besides which, there weren't all that many people (leaving the original population of the place out of the equation) there anyway, so almost everyone in the convict days would be a Pom anyway. The term is associated in many minds with another word implying illegitimacy (Pommy b........!), and is probably intended to be insulting, but I can't say I'd take much offence at it. Mar 08 06, 5:51 PM

soonappear

Florid indeed, rhyming slang (quite popular back then) for immigrant sounds more like it. http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pom1.htm Mar 08 06, 6:52 PM