Words & TermsWork, bush and rural life
didgeridoo
A name used for the long wind instrument originating in Arnhem Land; the English word is probably imitative.
In a sentence
The ensemble included clapsticks and didgeridoo.
Where it came from
The instrument originates in Arnhem Land and has different names in local languages, including yidaki in Yolngu languages. Didgeridoo is an English imitative word, not an Aboriginal-language name.
- Initial era
- 1900–1949
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Current; culturally sensitive attribution