Etymology The noun is derived from Middle English pomp, pompe, from Old French pompe, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “to send”). The verb is derived from Middle English pompen, from pomp, pompe (see above).
1
Show of magnificence; parade; display; power.
'Tis a gross visible errour, which Tertullian teaches in his Book of Idolatry cap. 18. That all the marks of Dignity and Power, and all the ornaments annexed to Office, are forbid Christians, and that Jesus Christ hath plac'd all these things amongst the pomps of the Devil, since he himself appeared in a condition so far from all pomp and splendour.1698, Pierre Nicole, “A person of quality”, in Moral Essayes, Contain'd in Several Treatises on Many Important Duties., volume I, page 95:
The deafening claps of thunder and the dazzling flashes of lightning which lit up the ghastly scene testified that the artillery of heaven had lent its supernatural pomp to the already gruesome spectacle.1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
In its pomp Victoria had 17 platforms, but many of the through platforms were demolished in the early 1990s to make way for the Manchester Arena.2019 November 6, “1901 tramcar joins Manchester Victoria celebrations”, in Rail, page 25:
2
A procession distinguished by ostentation and splendor; a pageant.
[…] a more beautiful expression of joy and thanksgiving than could have been exhibited by all the pomps of a Roman triumph.1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian:
Etymology The noun is derived from Middle English pomp, pompe, from Old French pompe, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “to send”). The verb is derived from Middle English pompen, from pomp, pompe (see above).
pomp'd for those hard triflesa. 1638 (date written), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Under-woods. Consisting of Divers Poems. (please specify the poem)”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640, →OCLC:
Derived terms
pomp up
pomp
verb
Etymology From Middle English pompen. Possibly an alteration of pampen (English pamp), from Middle Low German pampen (“to pamper oneself, live luxuriously”), from Old Saxon *pampōn, from Proto-Germanic *pampōną (“to swell”), from Proto-Indo-European *bamb- (“round object”).