The word "oomph" is an Americanism that dates back to 1935–40. It's an imitative word that sounds like the sound made during exertion, such as lifting a heavy object. It is an onomatopoeia that imitates a sound. Ah, but what sound is it imitating?
According to Online Etymology Dictionary , “oomph” means "sexual attractiveness," 1937 (umph), suggestive visceral physical sound.
Ann Sheridan (1915–1967) was the original Hollywood "oomph girl."
Some say the word comes from the forceful sound of being hit in the belly, like a boxer taking a punch to the midsection. Others say it may be imitative of the bellow of a mating bull. If you said that a powerful car has plenty of oomph, then on acceleration it pins you back in your seat and makes you say “oomph.”.
"Oomph" has multiple meanings: Power and strength; enthusiasm, vigor, or energy; sex appeal; or expressive of exertion
Omphalos is the Greek word for “navel” (as in belly button). Goes all the way back to Ancient Greece and the Oracle at Delphi. She was a highly respected mysterious woman with the power to give wise advice and predict the future. She would do this at a created object in the ground, called an omphalos. The Greeks regarded this object as a marker of the center of the world, like a belly button is at the center of your body.
ReplyDelete