English
kangaroo
Kangaroo comes from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru ‘eastern grey kangaroo’.
- Guugu Yimidhirrmoderngangurru‘eastern grey kangaroo’
- Englishearliest quotation 1770kangaroo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Guugu Yimidhirrmoderngangurru‘eastern grey kangaroo’
- Englishearliest quotation 1770kangaroo
Earliest quotation: 1770, James Cook: “Besides the Animals which I have before mentioned, called…”
The story
Despite a popular misconception, the Guugu Yimidhirr term does not mean "I don't know".
Every English word from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru
Today it means
noun A member of the Macropodidae family of large marsupials with strong hind legs for hopping, native to Australia and New Guinea.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru / kangaroo