Words & TermsPeople and character
battler
Also: Aussie battler, little Aussie battler
Someone who keeps going despite hardship; often an ordinary person doing it tough.
In a sentence
She’s a battler who kept the shop open through three lean years.
Where it came from
Battler grew from the ordinary verb battle. By the late nineteenth century Australian use had developed the sympathetic sense of an ordinary person persevering through hardship.
- First recorded
- 1890s
- Initial era
- 1850–1899
- Where used
- Australia-wide