Origin: 1880–85; (< Yiddish) < Russ pogróm lit., destruction, devastation (of a town, country, etc., as in war), n. deriv. of pogromít’, equiv. to po- perfective prefix + gromít’ to destroy, devastate, deriv. of grom thunder
po·grom (pə-grŏm', pō'grəm) n. An organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group, especially one conducted against Jews.
[Russian, outrage, havoc, from pogromit', to wreak havoc : po-, adverbial pref. (from po, next to; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + gromit', to outrage, wreak havoc (from grom, thunder).] po·grom' v.
1882, from Yiddish pogrom, from Rus. pogromu "devastation, destruction," from po- "by, through" + gromu "thunder, roar," from PIE imitative base *ghrem- (see grim).