Australian Aboriginal Words in English - Their Origin and Meaning (Hardcover)

In 1788 there were some 250 Aboriginal languages in use in Australia. These had many features in common, and this study of Australian Aboriginal words begins with a general account of the nature and history of Aboriginal languages, and with profiles of those languages which have been most significant as sources of borrowings. The words are then grouped according to subject - birds, fishes, edible flora, implements, dwellings and so on. For each word there is an entry, like that in a dictionary, giving the language the word comes from, the original pronunciation and meaning in that language, the date of its first written use in English and its present meaning. Illustrative quotations are given in many instances. The text concludes with a chapter on the way the words behave in English, and a chapter on words which went the other way - words borrowed from English and incorporated into one or more Aboriginal languages.