Oom Paul
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
"Uncle" Paul, the name familiarly applied to Paul Kruger (1825-1902), President of the Transvaal Republic and inspirer of the Dutch resistance to the British rule in South Africa.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Oom Paul” mean?
"Uncle" Paul, the name familiarly applied to Paul Kruger (1825-1902), President of the Transvaal Republic and inspirer of the Dutch resistance to the British rule in South Africa.
Is “Oom Paul” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.