DCHP-3

bowser

DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)

Spelling variants:
Bowser

n. & adj. — rare, Automotive

a type of pump widely used for refuelling, but also for dispensing other liquids (see Image 1)

Type: 2. Preservation — This term for 'gas pump' was named after its inventor, Sylvanus F. Bowser, an American entrepreneur from Fort Wayne, Indiana, who invented the bowser in 1885. It was first called the Bowser pump, which was eventually shortened to bowser. According to Kaszynski (2000:46), the entrepreneur "modified a water pump into a 'self-measuring gasoline tank' that pumped fuel from a barrel." This background suggests that the term bowser is today a preservation from an American term that spread into Canadian English in the early 1900s. One of the first attested uses in Canada appears in the 1910s in a newspaper advertisement (see the 1916 quotation), which coincides with the first burst of Canadians purchasing automobiles. As the Canadian Encyclopedia states, "[m]otor vehicle registration figures appear for the first time in The Canada Year Book for 1916-17", thus increasing the need for gasoline and gas pumps and causing terminology related to automobiles and gas pumps to become more common.
The term is of limited frequency in Canada (see Chart 1), yet it occurs more frequently here than in the US. Only the Antipodes (.au and .nz) can somewhat match the 2.0 index points in the .ca domain. Gas pump is by far the most frequent term in Canadian English (see Chart 2). Chart 2 is an attempt to measure the phrases used for 'filling up a car's tank'. As can be seen, the US uses at the pump more frequently than gas pump, a ratio that is inverse in Canada, where that term has pushed back bowser, which remains as a minority term.
See also COD-2, s.v. "bowser", which is marked "Brit., Cdn (Nfld), Austral., & NZ", and OED-3, s.v. "bowser", which is marked "chiefly Austral. and N.Z", AND, s.v. "bowser" (n.) and NZDE, s.v. "bowser" (n.).
Note that no evidence could be found for the Newfoundland dimension of the term suggested in COD-2.

Quotations

1916
FOR SALE CHEAP: 1 BOWSER 30-GALLON VARNISH OR oil pump and tank. M. BEATTY & SONS, LIMITED, WELLAND, Ont.
1918
FOR SALE--BOWSER 3-BARREL, 3-TANK dry cleaning system, complete with power pump, also 40-gallon gasoline distil, or would sell business outright. W. A. Forsyth, Galt.
1922
BOWSER PUMP Rebuilt and Painted. Looks and works just like new. Make us an offer. MAIN 507.
1928
Is Your Fuel Oil Meter Measured? MILNES FUEL OIL Sold only by Meter Measure--For your protection, a Bowser Meter on every tank wagon.
1954
AUTOMATIC CAN FILLER BOWSER MODEL 891 COMPLETE WITH CONVEYOR GOOD USED CONDITION DESIGNED FOR FILLING OILS AND SIMILAR LIQUIDS PHONE Canadian Oil Companies L.T.D. PURCHASING AGENT
1971
Gasoline equipment, located at 4660 Kingston Road, Highland Creek, Ontario consisting of four Astro Universal pumps (Model 200BR-3), one Bowser pump (Model 712DI), one Bowser pump (Model 712), one Robbins and Myers air compressor (Model 5958) and one twin bulb station light standard.
2001
Color Photo: Photo courtesy of The American Gas Station / Bowser-brand pumps, rusted and unused since the 1960s.
2010
The explosion occurred in March 1999, when Sgt. Roger Giguerre was atop a refueling truck, or 'bowser,' emptying the final 10 inches of fuel from one of the million-litre fuel farm tanks so it could be ready for maintenance. Flames erupted from the bowser's open hatch cover, engulfing Giguerre.
2014
By the time Paul Therriault sold his livery stable in 1923 the automobile had replaced horses as the normal means of transportation. By 1924 both the Leduc Hardware and the Moss/Bullock Hardware stores had established Bowser pumps in front of their stores to meet the needs of their customers.

References

Images

Image 1: Early <i>bowser pump</i>. Source: Wikimedia Commons (NB: text cut off in original picture file)

Image 1: Early bowser pump. Source: Wikimedia Commons (NB: text cut off in original picture file)

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 26 Jan. 2016

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 26 Jan. 2016

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 26 Jan. 2016

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 26 Jan. 2016