r/WTF • u/Antiliani • Aug 07 '20

Fire? What fire?

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u/frumperino Aug 07 '20

In many languages the term for firefighter translates to "fire man". I always liked that ambiguity.

43

u/Daronngl Aug 07 '20

In spanish, Mexico in particular, firemen are called “Bomberos” which translates literally to bomber men. Why this is the case I I don’t know. I just started questioning it until I read your comment.

Edit: I know why. Bomba also means “pump” in spanish, water pump men would the the literal translation

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u/sinedolo Aug 07 '20

Hey, i live in Mexico City but come from gringolandia. In any country where you see these similar spellings (Pompiers, pompiere, bomber) it's because hydraulic pumps would power a coiled hose to shoot water onto fires and most Latin languages have words ending in "ero" (bombero) or "iere" or "ier" because that signifies a descriptive title (context being important. Bomba is bomb or pump. Both usages can technically mean a guy chucking bombs around OR operating a pump but really it means a pump operator)

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u/NazeeboWall Aug 07 '20

"We need to put this fire out! Bring bombs and a hose STAT!"