gomer.
A conical chamber at the breech of the bore in heavy ordnance, especially in mortars.
Meaning & usage
A conical chamber at the breech of the bore in heavy ordnance, especially in mortars.
Where this word comes from
After Louis-Gabriel de Gomer, the French artillery officer who invented the design. Attested in English since the early nineteenth century.
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.
Where this word comes from
Likely from the oafish fictional character Gomer Pyle from the 1960s American sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
An undesirable hospital patient, or a patient who does not need medical care.
That patient is a total GOMER. Turf him and let's get some lunch.
A dirty, senile, or otherwise unpleasant patient.
A patient who does not respond to medical treatment.
Where this word comes from
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.
Alternative form of omer: a former Hebrew unit of dry volume equal to about 2.3 L or 2.1 quarts.
Where this word comes from
From Latin gomor in the Vulgate, from Ancient Greek γομόρ (gomór) in the Septuagint, from Hebrew עומר ('ómer, “sheaf; unit of dry measure”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.