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Gibber

2 stages from Dharug to English.

Today it means (Australian) a stone or boulder; a stony desert plain

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

1
Stage 1 of 2
giba
Dharug · 1780s
"stone"
the Sydney-language word for a stone or rock, noted by colonists soon after the First Fleet arrived in 1788
2
Stage 2 of 2
gibber
English · 1790s
"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
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Read the full story

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.