gibber

Where does the word "gibber" come from? It comes from Dharug giba, and was adopted directly into English (1790s).

Gibber’s story begins in Dharug: giba meant “stone.” The Sydney-language word for a stone or rock, noted by colonists soon after the First Fleet arrived in 1788. It reached English by 1790s as gibber. Australian English for a stone; 'gibber plains' are the stony deserts that stopped Charles Sturt's 1844-46 expedition, remembered in Sturt's Stony Desert. Today, gibber means (Australian) a stone or boulder; a stony desert plain.

1. Stage 1 · Dharug · 1780s giba "stone", the Sydney-language word for a stone or rock, noted by colonists soon after the First Fleet arrived in 1788.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1790s gibber "stone, boulder", Australian English for a stone; 'gibber plains' are the stony deserts that stopped Charles Sturt's 1844-46 expedition, remembered in Sturt's Stony Desert.