pomander

English

WOTD – 1 November 2018

Etymology

Gold and silver pomanders (sense 2) from Europe[1]
A pomander (sense 4) consisting of an orange studded with cloves

From Old French pome d'embre (literally “apple of ambergris”), from Medieval Latin pōmum dē ambra:[2] pōmum (“fruit”) (possibly from Old Latin *po-emo (“picked off”)); ambra (“amber; ambergris”) (probably from ambrosia (“food or unguent of the gods”), from ᾰ̓́μβροτος (“divine, immortal; belonging to the gods”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥mr̥tós (“immortal”)).

Pronunciation

Noun

pomander (countable and uncountable, plural pomanders)

  1. (countable, uncountable, historical) A mixture of aromatic substances, made into a ball and carried by a person to impart a sweet smell or as a protection against infection. [from late 15th c.]
  2. (countable, historical) A small case in which an aromatic ball was carried.
  3. (countable) A perforated container filled with pot-pourri for placing in a drawer, wardrobe, room, etc., to provide a sweet smell.
  4. (countable) An apple or orange studded with cloves used for the same purpose.

Translations

References

  1. ↑ From the collection of the Wellcome Library in London, England, UK.
  2. ↑ “pomander” (US) / “pomander” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.

Further reading

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