*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gomer

From Latin gomor in the Vulgate, from Ancient Greek γομόρ (gomór) in the Septuagint, from Hebrew עומר ('ómer, “sheaf; unit of dry measure”).

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of omer: a former Hebrew unit of dry volume equal to about 2.3 L or 2.1 quarts.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin gomor in the Vulgate, from Ancient Greek γομόρ (gomór) in the Septuagint, from Hebrew עומר ('ómer, “sheaf; unit of dry measure”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "gomor"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin gomor"
    },
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        "2": "grc",
        "3": "γομόρ"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek γομόρ (gomór)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "עומר",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sheaf; unit of dry measure",
        "tr": "'ómer"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew עומר ('ómer, “sheaf; unit of dry measure”)"
    }
  ],
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      "gomor",
      "gomor#Latin"
    ],
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      "Vulgate"
    ],
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      "γομόρ",
      "γομόρ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "עומר",
      "עומר#Hebrew"
    ],
    [
      "sheaf",
      "sheaf"
    ],
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      "unit",
      "unit"
    ],
    [
      "dry",
      "dry"
    ],
    [
      "measure",
      "measure"
    ]
  ],
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        "Alternative form of omer: a former Hebrew unit of dry volume equal to about 2.3 L or 2.1 quarts."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A conical chamber at the breech of the bore in heavy ordnance, especially in mortars.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

After Louis-Gabriel de Gomer, the French artillery officer who invented the design. Attested in English since the early nineteenth century.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "glosses": [
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A stupid, awkward, or oafish person. · An inept trainee or serviceperson. · An opponent in combat or in training. · A male animal (cattle, swine, horse mainly) used to arouse a female or detect, through her induced behavior, her hormonal availability for reproduction. Also called a teaser, a gomer may or may not be neutered, unless this element draws the line between those two synonyms. This particular meaning could also be the originator of the Gomer Pyle entry and not be a derivative.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Likely from the oafish fictional character Gomer Pyle from the 1960s American sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A stupid, awkward, or oafish person.",
        "An inept trainee or serviceperson.",
        "An opponent in combat or in training.",
        "A male animal (cattle, swine, horse mainly) used to arouse a female or detect, through her induced behavior, her hormonal availability for reproduction. Also called a teaser, a gomer may or may not be neutered, unless this element draws the line between those two synonyms. This particular meaning could also be the originator of the Gomer Pyle entry and not be a derivative."
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

An undesirable hospital patient, or a patient who does not need medical care. · A dirty, senile, or otherwise unpleasant patient. · A patient who does not respond to medical treatment.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain. Perhaps the same as, or influenced by Etymology 3, above. It is frequently claimed that the word is an acronym for "grand old man of the emergency room", or for "Get Out of My ER", the latter story popularized by the 1978 novel The House of God by Samuel Shem. John Algeo (1991) notes that various people claim the word is an acronym or is borrowed from Hebrew גמר (G-M-R, “finish; complete”), but suggests that these accounts are dubious. He concludes that a connection to Gomer Pyle or to the "stupid, awkward person" sense of the word is the most likely source. The Oxford English Dictionary online (2003) likewise treats the "undesirable patient" and "stupid person" senses as uses of the same word.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionגמרhe · finish; complete
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gomer →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z29tZXI