Wilso wrote:el_pohl wrote:Iggy as in Mr. Pop? And why "Poms"?
POME
Person
Of
Mother
England
My big dictionary (Shorter Oxford in two volumes, phwoarr!) gives this as "of obscure origin".
Elsewhere, this:
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 not confirmed.
One etymology of the term is thought to be that, as the majority of early immigrants to Australia were British, it is rhyming slang for "immigrant" from a contraction of the word "pomegranate", or possibly more directly related to the appearance of the fruit, as it bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Briton's skin after his or her first few days living under the hot Australian sun.
Another etymology, is such that POM is a shortened acronym of Prisoner of His/Her Majesty (POHM). This refers to the fact that most of Australian's first settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation. Upon arrival in the country they would sport a "uniform", with the four initials emblazoned on the back. Convicts with an extended stay on Australian soil would no longer have to wear the shirt, and would often refer to newer entrants into the country as "Pohmmys". The modern term excludes the H. Such actions could have presumed the Australian trait of self-joking. But though this may be commonly believed, it is believed to be false, as the term was coined long before acronyms were believed to be used in common parlance.
Other suggestions are mostly along the lines that POM is a different acronym, such as "Prisoner of Mother England" or "Port of Melbourne", referring to the fact that the earliest Australian settlers were convicts.
Some etymologies can be considered false etymologies, however there is a little to no evidence of a truthful conclusion to the word.
The use of the word 'Pom' is contentious. British people living in Australasia generally find the term offensive and demeaning as it is used to cause offence. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years, from the 1960s when slogans such as 'bash a pom a day' were heard on New Zealand radio, to today, when the word has become so entrenched that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to be politically correct about the use of this word that remains insulting to British people living in those countries.
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