A grommet (grom, or gremmie) is a young participant in extreme sports. Originally, a grommet was a surfer under the age of 16. In recent years, this has expanded to include other extreme sports, most notably skiing, skateboarding, roller derby and snowboarding.[1]
Etymology
The first contextual use of the word appears in a 1964 article by the journalist, Nicholas Tomalin, who on a visit to Newquay in Cornwall noted that: "A surfer who is no good or just beginning is a 'gremmie'."[2]
The word "Gremmie", which was used in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, was derived from the word "Gremlin".[3]
The term "grommet" was used in Lockie Leonard, Legend by Tim Winton in 1997: "Things are never as simple as they seem, not even for grommets". This earliest citation was a few years after the creation of the Wallace and Gromit animated films.
The word was originally a term for an inexperienced surfer, but has become an accepted term for all young participants. For example, the British Surfing Association offers a Grommet Surf Club for young surfers.
Alternative etymology
The word could also have been derived from an Early Modern English word for "junior seaman".[4]
Notes
Term first made popular on the South Coast of NSW in the 1970s Note that the two terms may have different origins contemporaneously, grommet or "gremmie"
References
- ↑ Definition of grommet on About.com. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Sun, surf and sexuality – it's a whole new cult". The Times. August 16, 1964.
- ↑ TransWorld SURF (2006-05-06). "5/9/06 Kew's Corner: The Definition of 'Grommet'". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Gromet: Quick reference". oxfordreference.com. Oxford University Press. 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
From the medieval Latin gromettus, a youth or servant in the British Navy.