kangaroo

B2 Topic:Animals

US /ˌkæŋɡəˈru/ See IPA manual

Freq #13109

Meanings

1

noun
A large Australian animal with strong back legs that moves by jumping and carries its young in a pouch.

A kangaroo bounded across the dusty road ahead of us.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large australian animal... roomacropod

Word family

Forms kangaroos

Derived forms anti-kangaroofangarookangaroo's-footkangaroo-barkangaroo-beetlekangaroo-flykangaroo-hopkangaroo-houndkangaroo-ratkangaroo-shootkangaroo-shooterkangaroo-shooting

Related forms joeymarsupial wallabywallaroo

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

kangaroo mouse
a small rodent with strong hind legs adapted for hopping

Noun + noun
rat kangaroo
a small Australian marsupial related to kangaroos and resembling a rat

Noun + noun
tree kangaroo
a kangaroo relative adapted to living in trees in New Guinea and northern Australia

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Kangaroo comes from gaŋurru in Guugu Yimidhirr, the language spoken near present-day Cooktown, where members of Captain Cook’s expedition learned the word in 1770. Gaŋurru named a particular kind of kangaroo rather than the whole group, but Europeans mistakenly generalized it. The story that it meant “I don’t know what you mean” is a folk etymology.

Etymology

Borrowed from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru (“eastern grey kangaroo”). Despite a popular misconception, the Guugu Yimidhirr term does not mean "I don't know".

Topics

Animals

External links

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