What’s the Hebrew word for a plunger?

Almost everyone has tried at one point or another to unclog household plumbing using a plunger. Until now, though, Hebrew speakers have had to do so without a proper word for the tool they used.

The Academy of the Hebrew Language is asking the public’s help in finding a Hebrew word for the appliance.

For lack of a better word, Israelis usually call the common household device, which usually consists of a rubber cup attached to a wooden stick, a “Pompa”, which derives from various European languages’ word for a pump.

The academy is attempting to amend this linguistic deficiency, turning to the public for assistance.

According to a report in the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth Wednesday, there are four leading candidates, one of which is “Pampam” — a word meant to imitate the sound a plunger makes when it releases a clogged sink.

In recent years, the Hebrew language academy has adopted the practice of accepting public suggestions for words it struggles to coin. Anyone with an appropriate “Pompa” alternative is invited to post their proposal to the Academy of the Hebrew Language’s official Facebook page.