List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
These words of Australian Aboriginal origin include some that are almost universal in the English-speaking world, such as kangaroo and boomerang. Many such words have also become loan words in other languages beyond English, while some are restricted to Australian English.
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Contents
Flora and fauna
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- ballart
- barramundi
- bilby
- Bindii-eye
- bogong
- boobook
- brigalow
- brolga
- budgerigar
- bunyip
- burdardu
- coolibah
- cunjevoi
- curara
- currawong
- dingo
- drongo
- galah
- gang-gang
- geebung
- gidgee
- gilgie
- gymea
- jarrah
- joogee (yabee)
- kangaroo[1]
- koala
- kookaburra
- kurrajong
- kutjera
- mallee
- marri
- mihirung
- mulga
- myall
- numt
- pademelon
- potoroo
- quandong
- quokka
- quoll
- taipan
- wallaby
- wallaroo
- waratah
- warrigal
- witchetty
- wobbegong
- wombat
- wonga
- wonga-wonga
- yabby
Environment
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- billabong
- bombora (rapids–often used to describe offshore reef breaks)
- boondie (hardened clump of sand; Noongar, W.A.[2])
- gibber (a boulder)
- gilgai
- min-min lights (ground-level lights of uncertain origin sometimes seen in remote rural Australia)
- pindari (high ground)
- willy willy (dust devil)
Aboriginal culture
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- alcheringa
- bogey (a bath)
- boomerang
- bunyip
- coolamon (wooden curved bowl used to carry food or baby)
- corroboree
- djanga
- gunyah
- humpy (a hut)
- kurdaitcha
- lubra (a racially offensive word for an Aboriginal woman)
- marn grook
- mia-mia (a hut)
- nulla-nulla
- turndun
- waddy (a wooden club)
- woggabaliri
- woomera
- wurlie - a hut
- Yara-ma-yha-who
Describing words
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Place names
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Names
Andrew
- Kylie (Noongar word for "throwing stick")
- Narelle (possibly a back-formation of Sydney suburb Narellan)
Andrew
Aboriginal-sounding[original research?] words not of Aboriginal origin
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- bandicoot (from Telugu)
- cockabully (from Māori kokopu)
- cockatoo (from Malay)
- didgeridoo (possibly from Irish or Scots Gaelic dúdaire dubh or dúdaire dúth [both /d̪u:d̪ɪrɪ d̪u:/] "black piper" or "native piper")
- emu (from Arabic, via Portuguese, for large bird)
- goanna (corruption of iguana)
- jabiru (from the Spanish)
- Nullarbor (Latin for no tree)
References
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For a list of words relating to with Australian Aboriginal language origins, see the Australian Aboriginal derivations category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://theperthfiles.blogspot.com.au/2006/04/bull-ants-boondies-bogans-and-bore.html
- ↑ http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-slang
