This is a list of English words derived from Australian Aboriginal languages. Some are restricted to Australian English as a whole or to certain regions of the country. Others, such as kangaroo and boomerang, have become widely used in other varieties of English, and some have been borrowed into other languages beyond English.
Flora and fauna
ballart barramundi bilby bindii bogong boobook brigalow brolga budgerigar bunyip burdardu coolabah cumbungi cunjevoi curara currawong (definition) Probably from Yagara , ultimately onomatopoeic. dillon bush dingo (definition) From Dharug , "tame/domesticated dog". galah (definition) From Gamilaraay , "galah". gang-gang (definition) Possibly from Wiradjuri , likely an onomatopoeic name. geebung gidgee gilgie gymea jarrah kangaroo koala kookaburra kurrajong kutjera mallee marri mihirung mulga Myall numbat (definition) From Noongar , "numbat". pademelon (definition) From Dharug , "pademelon". potoroo (definition) From Dharug , "potoroo". quandong (definition) From Wiradjuri , "quandong". quokka (definition) From Noongar , "quokka". quoll (definition) From the earlier form je-quoll, ultimately from Guugu Yimidhirr , "native cat". taipan (definition) From Wik-Mungkan , "Rainbow Serpent, taipan". wallaby (definition) From Dharug , "wallaby, rock-wallaby". wallaroo (definition) From Dharug , "wallaroo". waratah (definition) From Dharug , "waratah". warrigal (definition) From Dharug , "wild/undomesticated dog". witchetty (definition) Possibly from Arabana , "witchetty bush". wobbegong (definition) From Dharug , "wobbegong" (cf. Dharawal ). wombat (definition) From Dharug , "wombat". wonga-wonga (definition) From Dharug , "wonga pigeon". yabby (definition) From Wemba Wemba , "yabby".
Environment
billabong (definition) From Wiradjuri , likely a compound of , "river", and or , "dead". bombora (rapids–often used to describe offshore reef breaks) boondie (hardened clump of sand; Noongar, W.A.) gilgai lerp (crystallized honeydew produced by larvae of psyllid bugs, gathered as food) min-min lights (ground-level lights of uncertain origin sometimes seen in remote rural Australia) willy willy (dust devil)
Aboriginal culture
alcheringa bingy (pron. binji) belly boomerang bunyip cooee (a call used to attract attention) coolamon (wooden curved bowl used to carry food or baby) corroboree dilli (a bag) commonly, and tautologically, as "dilly-bag" djanga gibber (a stone) gin (now a racially offensive word for an Aboriginal woman) gunyah humpy (a hut) kurdaitcha lubra (now a racially offensive word for an Aboriginal woman) marn grook mia-mia (a hut) nulla-nulla turndun waddy (a wooden club), earlier, any piece of wood woggabaliri woomera wurlie or wurley, a hut yabber or yabber-yabber (talk) yakka (doing work of any kind) Yara-ma-yha-who
Describing words
Koori - Aboriginal people from Victoria and New South Wales cooee Nunga - Aboriginal people from South Australia Murri - Aboriginal people from Queensland Noongar - Aboriginal people from southern Western Australia Palawa - Aboriginal people from Tasmania yarndi (slang term for marijuana)
Place names
Names Kylie (Noongar word for "throwing stick")
English words often falsely assumed to be of Australian Aboriginal origin
bandicoot (from the Telugu, pandikokku a term originally referring to the unrelated bandicoot rat) cockabully (from Māori kokopu) cockatoo (from Malay) didgeridoo (likely as an onomatopoeia derived from the sound of the instrument) emu (from Arabic, via Portuguese, for large bird) goanna (corruption of the Taíno iguana) jabiru (from Tupi–Guarani via Spanish, originally referred to an American bird) nullarbor (Latin for no tree)'
References
Bibliography
Further reading Australian Aboriginal Words in English: their origin and meaning, Dixon, R.M.W., Moore, Bruce, Ramson, W.S., and Thomas, Mandy (2006), Oxford University Press, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. ISBN 9780195540734