▪ I. pompon, pom-pom
(ˈpɒmpɒn, ‖ pɔ̃pɔ̃, ˈpɒmpɒm)
Also 8 pong pong, pomponne, 8–9 pomˈpoon, 9 pompom, ponpon, pompone.
[a. F. pompon (1725 in Hatz.-Darm.) a tuft, top-knot; of uncertain origin; possibly a colloq. deriv. of pompe, pomp.
OF. had pompon, pompion, but this seems unconnected.]
1. A jewel or ornament attached to a long pin; a tuft or bunch of ribbon, velvet, flowers, threads of silk, etc., formerly worn in the hair, or on the cap or dress; now worn on women's and children's hats and shoes, and used to ornament the borders of mantles; also, the round tuft on a soldier's or sailor's cap, the front of a shako, etc. Also attrib.
| 1748 Song in Charmer (1751) II. 51 While you're placing a patch, or adjusting pong pong. 1748 Lond. Mag. (Fairholt), Pong-pong, an ornament worn by the ladies in the middle of the forepart of their head-dress. Their figures, size, and composition are various, such as butterflies, feathers, tinsel, coxcomb lace, etc. 1753 Chesterfield in World No. 18 ¶11 ‘How do you like my pompon, papa?’ continued my daughter..putting up her hand to her head, and showing me in the middle of her hair a complication of shreds and rags of velvets, feathers, and ribbands, stuck with false stones of a thousand colours. 1754 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) III. 300 Lady Betty is to have a very fine sprig of pearl diamonds and turquoises for her hair, by way of pomponne. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia i. v, A milliner may have sent a wrong pompoon. 1826 Hist. Pelham, Mass. (1898) 191 Voted that the town will furnish the Money to purchase Pompons and feathers. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Leech Folkest., Pieces of black pointed wire with which, in the days of toupees and pompoons, our foremothers were wont to secure their fly-caps and head-gear. 1887 Daily News 6 Jan. 3/1 Black gauze dotted over with pompons of chenille of about the size of a shilling. 1897 S. Crane in Westm. Gaz. 3 May 2/2 The blue sailor bonnets with their red pom-poms. 1904 P. N. Hasluck Upholstery 19 Pom-poms are used for ornamenting upholsterers' work. To make a pom-pom lap a wool or cardboard washer with three or four thicknesses of fibres. 1924 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 148 My! the bloomin' pom-poms! Even as trimmings they're stale. 1927 [see Evzone, evzone]. 1952 Granville Dict. Theatr. Terms 139 Pom-pom dress, the conventional Pierrot costume of white pantaloons, white jacket, decked with black pom-poms, or any other good combinations of colour. 1968 Listener 3 Oct. 445/3 The making of Bunny Girls' pom-poms for export. 1975 Times 9 Dec. 9/8 Mink jacket..has..mink pom-pom ties at the neck. 1977 Time 4 Apr. 42/2 He has rigged it with 100,000 steel darts, which, if detonated at just the right moment, can wipe out everybody in the stadium, down to the last pompon girl. |
2. A variety of chrysanthemum, and of dahlia, bearing small globular flowers. Also attrib. Also, one of a group of dwarf varieties of Rosa centifolia with small double flowers. Also with capital initial.
| 1843 Florist's Jrnl. IV. 106 R[osa] centifolia (the Provence or Cabbage rose), with its varieties, including the ‘mossy’ and ‘pompone’ roses. 1861 Morn. Post 12 Nov., The pompons, or dwarf chrysanthemums. 1866 Treas. Bot. s.v. Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemums are classed by growers into Large-flowered, Anemone-flowered, Pompons, and Anemone-flowered Pompons. Ibid. s.v. Dahlia, A race of pompons with remarkably small flower-heads has been obtained. 1869 [see miniature a. a]. 1891 Times 15 Oct. 5/5 The four great divisions of show dahlias, cactus dahlias, decorative dahlias, and pompons. 1894 A. Foster-Melliar Bk. of Rose ii. 15 A sub-variety of the Provence is the Pompon Rose. 1908 E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber i. ix. 130 Stalkless mushrooms [of coral], gills uppermost,..blossom as pom-pom chrysanthemums. 1922 Mrs. C. H. Stout Amateur's Bk. Dahlia i. 7 At that time [sc. 1870] appeared a tiny ball-shaped blossom, originating probably with Hartweg of Karlsruhe, which he called ‘pompon’. 1943 F. Thompson Candleford Green i. 20 Old-fashioned pompom dahlias in autumn. 1952 W. E. Shewell-Cooper Chrysanthemum Growing xv. 161 These chrysanthemums are said to have been quite popular in the Victorian era... They are called ‘Pompoms’ in some parts of the country, ‘Pompons’ in other districts, and even ‘Pompones’. 1955 C. C. Hurst in G. S. Thomas Old Shrub Roses ix. 91 Both varieties were dwarf Pompons a few inches high. 1958 [see collarette c]. 1961 [see Korean chrysanthemum]. 1974 J. Berrisford Window Box & Container Gardening v. 48 The smaller-growing of the Pompoms [sc. chrysanthemums] are also useful. |
Hence ˈpomponed a., decked with pompons.
| 1753 World No. 22 ¶7 Exhibiting themselves in public places,..patched, painted and pomponed. 1767 Woman of Fashion I. 109 The Head frizzled, egretted, pomponed, befeather'd, and beribbon'd all over. |
Add: [1.] b. transf. Something that resembles a pom-pom in shape and texture.
| 1936 I. Jones China Boy 25 He thought it one of the fluffy pom-poms that had been blown thither from the garden where the old lady had planted a clump of Holy Thistles. 1968 H. Harmar Chihuahua Guide 242 Pompon, a rounded tuft of hair on the tail (Poodle). Sometimes miscalled Pom-Pom. 1983 Jinty Ann. 1984 21/1 A sniffy, haughty sort of dog, with..a little pom-pom of hair stuck on his head like a wig. |
▪ II. pompon, -pone
a pumpkin: see pompion.