Etymology Map
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Wallaby

2 stages from Dharug to English.

Today it means a small or medium-sized kangaroo-like marsupial

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

1
Stage 1 of 2
walabi
Dharug · 1780s
"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 of 2
wallaby
English · 1790s
"small kangaroo"
recorded by early Sydney colonists; the Australian rugby union team took the name 'Wallabies' on its 1908 tour of Britain
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Read the full story

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.