bomber English · revision 15350

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1862}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɒmə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɑmɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an agent noun from the verb [[bomb]], formed with [[-er]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the American Civil War (1863), of mortar-carrying flat-bottomed river boats in the Vicksburg campaign, in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates a sense to 1862.^(MWU 2024) A person who throws bombs, especially a soldier in a bombing party, is from 1915.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A military aircraft that carries bombs is from 1917,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and Bomber Command and other combinations from 1935.^(OED 1989) In slang a bomber was a marijuana cigarette from 1952 and a barbiturate pill from 1962.^(OED 1989) The bomber jacket, modelled on American air force flight jackets, is from 1973.^(OED 1989) A person who plants bombs, as a terrorist, is in modern dictionaries.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1862 – bomber (Merriam-Webster).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1863 – mortar boats.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – a bomb thrower.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – a bomber aircraft.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1973 – bomber jacket.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A military [[aircraft]] designed to carry and drop [[bomb|alt=bombs]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who makes, plants or sets off bombs.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' A large [[marijuana]] cigarette, or a [[barbiturate]] pill.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fighter-bomber]]

+ * [[superbomber]]

+ * [[ban-the-bomber]]

+ * [[bomber jacket]]

+ * [[light bomber]]

+ * [[heavy bomber]]

+ * [[medium bomber]]

+ * [[torpedo bomber]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bombardier]]

+ * [[bomb]]

+ * [[bombard]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}