Link Centre Dictionary

Zamboni

zam·boni

UK/zæmˈboʊni/ US/zæmˈboʊ.ni/ rare

noun

1.

the trade name for a machine that smoothes the ice in an ice-skating rink

Origin

From the surname of the inventor, Frank J. Zamboni, and his brand of such machines. Zamboni was originally (and may still be) a trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.. Its use in the general sense is an example of trademark erosion. The surname itself is of Italian origin, as a northeastern dialectal variant (possibly Venetan) of Giambono, comprised of a reduced form of Gianni (from Giovanni (“John”)) + Bono or buono (“good”). Frank Zamboni's father originated from Arsio in Trentino, northern Italy.

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Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.