zambuk
/ˈzæmbʌk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A first-aider, especially one from St. John Ambulance attending at a sports event.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; Informal
noun
noun
Alternative letter-case form of zambuk.
Example Sentences
- "“C’mon ‘Zambuk,’ what’s keeping yer!” the old-time football crowds would yell when one over-eager barracker k.o.’d an opposition supporter. Spencer Middlemiss sat back in a chair at his Mascot home last week, and, surrounded by a pile of certificates, photographs and cuttings, proudly confessed that he was one of the original “Zambuks.”"
- "The Hospitaller's Clubs, who work for the Hospital of St. John, an op[h]thalmic hospital in Jerusalem, and the St. John Ambulance Brigade, they're the voluntary uniform body, the Zambuks on the football field and the women in white who look after fainting people in big crowds …"
- "When I came past the accident scene I couldn't believe it—the driver was walking around, though he was breathing a little huskily. As the ambulance by that time had arrived I told one of the zambucks."
- "‘You’re still bleeding from that wound on the head. Tiger’ll put a dressing on it.’ / ‘Aw, call the Zambuck,’ he protested. / […] / ‘Zambuck’s the first aid man at the footy—you know, St John’s Ambulance. They’re called that ’cause of the ointment they carry.’"
- "All Black lock Tiny White (born 1925) being taken from the field by zambuks in the fourth New Zealand–South Africa rugby test, Eden Park, Auckland, 1 September 1956."
- "We better tell them the shooting is over, otherwise the cops won't let the zambucks come up to get Cathy."
Etymology
From Zam-Buk, a type of healing ointment originally manufactured in England, United Kingdom; further origin uncertain.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈzæmbʌk/
- British English: /ˈzæmbʌk/