Used to describe an immigrant, usually from the United Kingdom. From the word Pomegranate which was rhyming slang for Immigrant (C1920s). This evolved to pommy and pom by the 1950s
ten pound pom - 1950s immigrant from the UK who paid roughly £10 for passage (via boat) and a plot of land.
by penef July 6, 2015
A person from England, usually caucasian. Pom is short for pomegranate.
Pom was never an abbreviation of P.O.H.M nor P.O.M.E. (Prisoner of Her Majesty and Prisoner of Mother England respectively), otherwise we'd be calling them pomes as both acronyms are pronounced 'pome'
The convict scheme was one way for England to rid itself of the non-English and Catholic so many prisoners were Irish. Also purged from England were Scots, Welsh, blacks, jews, etc. so both above-mentioned acronyms are incorrect as pom would include all those that were not English.
English seamen, captains, generals, prison guards, farm labourers, domestic servants, etc. also emigrated to Aus. along with the convicts so again both above-mentioned acronyms are incorrect as these English were not prisoners.
All the convicts committed minor crimes. To dispel another myth, there were no hardened criminals shipped to Aus. During that time in England, murderers, rapists, conmen, Egyptians, etc. were all executed.
Note: the word Egyptian later became gypsy, at that time they believed all gypsies came from Egypt and gypsies were executed as fortune telling and other ways of conning people of their money, etc. was considered a serious crime.
Pom was never an abbreviation of P.O.H.M nor P.O.M.E. (Prisoner of Her Majesty and Prisoner of Mother England respectively), otherwise we'd be calling them pomes as both acronyms are pronounced 'pome'
The convict scheme was one way for England to rid itself of the non-English and Catholic so many prisoners were Irish. Also purged from England were Scots, Welsh, blacks, jews, etc. so both above-mentioned acronyms are incorrect as pom would include all those that were not English.
English seamen, captains, generals, prison guards, farm labourers, domestic servants, etc. also emigrated to Aus. along with the convicts so again both above-mentioned acronyms are incorrect as these English were not prisoners.
All the convicts committed minor crimes. To dispel another myth, there were no hardened criminals shipped to Aus. During that time in England, murderers, rapists, conmen, Egyptians, etc. were all executed.
Note: the word Egyptian later became gypsy, at that time they believed all gypsies came from Egypt and gypsies were executed as fortune telling and other ways of conning people of their money, etc. was considered a serious crime.
Pom is short for pomegranate.
by Eedenberg February 14, 2020
*Mom is watching you type*
You: Uh, hey dude, you have some good pom?"
Mom: WHAT?!
You: Pomegranate...
Mom: Oh, okay.
*Walks away*
You: So you got some?
Friend: Hold on.
You: Uh, hey dude, you have some good pom?"
Mom: WHAT?!
You: Pomegranate...
Mom: Oh, okay.
*Walks away*
You: So you got some?
Friend: Hold on.
by lseiomn October 15, 2011
The first written reference to the English being referred to as Pommies (Poms) is contained in letters written from the front lines and trenches of France in 1916.
A traditional French insult for the English is “**pomme de terre avec le visage d'un cochon d’inde**”
“Potato with the face of a Guinea pig”
Shortened to simply “Pomme de Terre”
“Potato” because the French considered the English, dirty, boring and common.
The Australian Soldiers who shared the French Soldiers dislike for the English Officers, but could not speak French, adopted the first word from those derogatory phrases “Pomme” or “Pommes”
Mispronounced, initially, as Pommy or Pommies (possibly due to the spelling Pomme being read as Pommie).
Then shortened to Pom.
Pom does not mean Prisoner of Mother England.
It does not mean Pomegranate.
It has nothing to do with Pom-poms.
It means Potato.
Substantiated by letters from 1916.
And the fact the French, themselves, have long referred to the English as “Potato”.
If you call someone a Pom, you are calling him a “potato”.
A traditional French insult for the English is “**pomme de terre avec le visage d'un cochon d’inde**”
“Potato with the face of a Guinea pig”
Shortened to simply “Pomme de Terre”
“Potato” because the French considered the English, dirty, boring and common.
The Australian Soldiers who shared the French Soldiers dislike for the English Officers, but could not speak French, adopted the first word from those derogatory phrases “Pomme” or “Pommes”
Mispronounced, initially, as Pommy or Pommies (possibly due to the spelling Pomme being read as Pommie).
Then shortened to Pom.
Pom does not mean Prisoner of Mother England.
It does not mean Pomegranate.
It has nothing to do with Pom-poms.
It means Potato.
Substantiated by letters from 1916.
And the fact the French, themselves, have long referred to the English as “Potato”.
If you call someone a Pom, you are calling him a “potato”.
by AussieMatt June 22, 2019
Dutch slang for cash. Derived from the Dutch word 'pomp' (which means 'pump') which is sometimes used as a metaphor for cash flow.
The word pom is commonly used by bums and trailer trash in the southern part of the Netherlands.
The word pom is commonly used by bums and trailer trash in the southern part of the Netherlands.
by SpaceKing January 7, 2014
by litbitch33 November 17, 2018
"Damnit, the poms have won the rugby world cup..."
"Damnit, the Poms have reclaimed the ashes in spectacular style..."
"Damnit, the Poms have reclaimed the ashes in spectacular style..."
by Nickers'05 September 24, 2005