Words & TermsWork, bush and rural life
kangaroo
The well-known Australian marsupial name borrowed from Guugu Yimithirr.
In a sentence
A mob of kangaroos fed beside the road at dusk.
Where it came from
Kangaroo comes from gangurru in Guugu Yimithirr, a language of far north Queensland. James Cook’s expedition recorded the word in 1770 and English later generalised it beyond the original local species.
- First recorded
- 1770
- Initial era
- Before 1800
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Current