wallaby

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

Wallaby’s story begins in Dharug: walabi meant “a kind of small kangaroo.” Dharug, the language of the Sydney basin, was the first Aboriginal language met by the British First Fleet in 1788, which is why it gave English more words than any other. It reached English by 1790s as wallaby. Recorded by early Sydney colonists; the Australian rugby union team took the name 'Wallabies' on its 1908 tour of Britain. Today, wallaby means a small or medium-sized kangaroo-like marsupial.

1. Stage 1 · Dharug · 1780s walabi "a kind of small kangaroo", Dharug, the language of the Sydney basin, was the first Aboriginal language met by the British First Fleet in 1788, which is why it gave English more words than any other.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1790s wallaby "small kangaroo", recorded by early Sydney colonists; the Australian rugby union team took the name 'Wallabies' on its 1908 tour of Britain.