n.
1) an aboriginal word.See marsupial.
(a) The Origin of the Name. The name was first obtained in1770, while H.M.S. Endeavour lay beached at theEndeavour River, where Cooktown, Queensland, now is. The namefirst appears in print in 1773, in the book brought out by therelatives of Mr. Parkinson, who was draughtsman to Banks thenaturalist, and who had died on the voyage. The object of thisbook was to anticipate the official account of Cook's Voyage byHawkesworth, which appeared later in the same year. It is nowknown that Hawkesworth's book was like a rope twisted of fourstrands, viz. Cook's journal, the diaries of the twonaturalists, Banks and Solander, and quartum quid, theJohnsonian pomposity of Dr. Hawkesworth. Cook's journal waspublished in 1893, edited by Captain Wharton, hydrographer tothe Admiralty; Banks's journal, in 1896, edited by Sir J. D.Hooker. Solander's journal has never been printed.
When Englishmen next came to Australia in 1788, it was foundthat the word Kangaroo was not known to the nativesround Port Jackson, distant 1500 miles to the South ofCooktown. In fact, it was thought by them to be an Englishword. (See quotation, Tench, 1789.) It is a question whetherthe word has belonged to any aboriginal vocabulary since.«Capt. Philip P. King, the explorer, who visited that locality[sc. Endeavour River] forty-nine years after Cook, relates inhis `Narrative of the Survey of the Intertropical and WesternCoasts of Australia,' that he found the word kangaroo unknownto the tribe he met there, though in other particulars thevocabulary he compiled agrees very well with Captain Cook's.» (Curr's `Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 27.) In the fourthvolume of Curr's book a conspectus is given of the words usedin different parts of Australia for various objects. In thelist of names for this animal there are a few that are not farfrom Kangaroo, but some inquirers suspect the accuracyof the list, or fancy that the natives obtained the wordssounding like Kangaroo from English. It may be assumedthat the word is not now in use as an aboriginal word. Has it,then, disappeared? or was it an original mistake on the part ofBanks or Cook ?
The theory of a mistake has obtained widely. It has figured inprint, and finds a place in at least one dictionary. Severalcorrespondents have written that the word Kangaroo meant «I don't understand,» and that Banks mistook this for a name.This is quite possible, but at least some proof is needed, asfor instance the actual words in the aboriginal language thatcould be twisted into this meaning. To find these words, andto hear their true sound, would test how near the explanationhits the mark. Banks was a very careful observer, and hespecially notes the precautions he took to avoid any mistake inaccepting native words. Moreover, according to SurgeonAnderson, the aborigines of Van Diemen's Land described theanimal by the name of Kangaroo. (See quotation, 1787.)
On the other hand, it must be remembered that it is anascertained fact that the aborigines taboo a word on the deathof any one bearing that word as a proper name. (See quotationunder Nobbler, 1880.) If, therefore, after Cook's visit,some man called Kangaroo died, the whole tribe wouldexpunge Kangaroo from its vocabulary. There is,however, some evidence that the word was much later in usein Western Australia. (See quotation, 1835.)
It is now asserted that the word is in use again at the verypart of Queensland where the Endeavour was beached.Lumholtz, in his `Amongst Cannibals' (p. 311), gives it in hisaboriginal vocabulary. Mr. De Vis, of the Brisbane Museum, inhis paper before the Geographical Society at Brisbane (1894),says that «in point of fact the word `kangaroo' is the normalequivalent for kangaroo at the Endeavour River; and not onlyso, it is almost the type-form of a group of variations in useover a large part of Australia.» It is curiously hard toprocure satisfactory evidence as to the fact. Mr. De Vis saysthat his first statement was «made on the authority of aprivate correspondent; «but another correspondent writes fromCooktown, that the blacks there have taken Kangaroo fromEnglish. Inquiries inserted in each of the Cooktown newspapershave produced no result. Mr. De Vis' second argument as to thetype-form seems much stronger. A spoken language, unwritten,unprinted, must inevitably change, and change rapidly. A wordcurrent in 1770 would change rather than disappear, and theroot consonants would remain. The letters ng together,followed by r, occur in the proportion of one inthirteen, of the names for the animal tabulated by Curr.
It is a difficult matter on which to speak decidedly, butprobably no great mistake was made, and the word received wasa genuine name of the animal.
See further the quotations, 1896.
(b) The Plural of the Word.
There seems to be considerable doubt as to the plural of theword, whether it should take s like most English words,or remain unchanged like sheep, deer. In twoconsecutive pages of one book the two plurals are used. Thegeneral use is the plural in s. See 1793 Hunter, 1845Balfour, and 1880 Senior; sportsmen frequently use the form Kangaroo.
[Since 1888 a kangaroo has been the design on the one-shillingpostage stamp of New South Wales.]
1815. `History of New South Wales,' (1818) PP. 460-461:
«Throughout the general course of the journey, kangaroos, emus,ducks, etc. were seen in numbers.» «Mr. Evans saw thekangaroo in immense flocks.»
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 49:
«The kangaroos are too subtle and shy for us to get near.»
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 125:
«In the afternoon we saw some kangaroos and wallaby, but didnot succeed in killing any.»
1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. iii. p. 23:
«Though kangaroo were plentiful, they were not overwhelming tonumber.»
(c) Kangaroo in French.
1777. Buffon, `Supplement a l'Histoire Naturelle,' tom. iv.`Table des Matieres':
«Kanguros, espece de grosse Gerboise qui se trouve dans lesterres australes de la Nouvelle Hollande.»
1800. J. J. Labillardiere, `Voyage a la recherche de LaPerouse,' tom. i. p. 134: [Under date April 24, 1792.]
«Un de nos chasseurs trouva un jeune kangourou sur les bords dela mer.»
1880. H. de Charency, `Recherches sur les DialectesTasmaniens,' p. 21:
«Kangourou. Ce mot semble d'origine non Australienne, comme onl'a soutenu, mais bien Tasmanienne.»
1882. Littre, `Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise' (s.v.):
«Kanguroo ou kangarou. On ecrit aussi kangarou et kangourou.»
1882. A. Daudet, `Jack,' p. 131:
Il regardait les kangaroos dresses sur leurs pattes, silongues qu'elles ont l'agilite et l'elan d'une paire d'ailes.»
1890. Oscar Comettant [Title]:
«Au Pays des Kangourous.»
(d) Kangaroo in German – – Kaenguruh:
1892. R. V. Lendenfeld, `Australische Reise,' p. 46:
«Die Kaenguruh hoben in dem Augenblick, als sie das Geheulhoerten, die Koepfe hoch and witterten, blickten and loostenin alle Richtungen.»
Notice that both in French and German the u sound of themiddle syllable is preserved and not changed as in English to a.
(e) The species.
The name Kangaroo is applied to the following largerspecies of the genus Macropus, the remaining speciesbeing called Wallabies – – Antilopine Kangaroo – – Macropus antilopinus, Gould.
♣ Great Grey K., or Forester – – M. giganteus, Zimm.
♣ Great Red K. – – M. rufus, Desm.
♣ Isabelline K. – – M. isabellinus, Gould.
♣ Owen's K. – – M. magnus, Owen.
♣ Wallaroo, or Euro – – M. robustus, Gould.
The name Kangaroo is also applied to certain otherspecies of Marsupials belonging to the genus Macropus,but with a qualifying adjective, such as Dorca – , Tree – , Rat – , Musk – , etc.; and it isapplied to species of the genera Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, and Hypsiprymnodon. The Brush-Kangaroo (q.v.) is another name for the Wallaby (q.v.), and the Rat-Kangaroo is thestricter scientific appellation of Kangaroo-Rat (q.v.).The Banded-Kangaroo is a Banded-Wallaby (see Lagostrophus). See also Dorca-Kangaroo, Tree-Kangaroo, Musk-Kangaroo, Dorcopsis,Dendrolagus, Bettongia, Hypsiprymnodon, Rock-Wallaby, Paddy-melon, Forester, Old Man,, Joey, and Boomah.
(f) The Use of the Word.
1770. `Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 244:
May 1st. An animal which must feed upon grass, and which,we judge, could not be less than a deer.»
[p. 280]: «June 23rd. One of the men saw an animal somethingless than a greyhound; it was of a mouse colour, very slendermade, and swift of foot.»
[p. 294]: August 4th. «The animals which I have beforementioned, called by the Natives Kangooroo or Kanguru.» [At Endeavour River, Queensland.]
1770. Joseph Banks, `Journal' (edition Hooker, 1896), p. 287:
« July 14. – – Our second Lieutenant had the good fortune tokill the animal that had so long been the subject of ourspeculations. To compare it to any European animal would beimpossible, as it has not the least resemblance to any one thatI have seen. Its forelegs are extremely short, and of no useto 1t in walking; its hind again as disproportionally long;with these it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in the samemanner as the jerboa, to which animal indeed it bears muchresemblance, except in size, this being in weight 38 lbs., andthe jerboa no larger than a common rat.»
Ibid. p. 301:
« August 26. – – Quadrupeds we saw but few, and were able tocatch but few of those we did see. The largest was called bythe natives kangooroo; it is different from anyEuropean, and, indeed, any animal I have heard or read of,except the jerboa of Egypt, which is not larger than a rat,while this is as large as a middling lamb. The largest we shotweighed 84 lbs. It may, however, be easily known from allother animals by the singular property of running, or ratherhopping, upon only its hinder legs, carrying its fore-feetclose to its breast. In this manner it hops so fast that inthe rocky bad ground where it is commonly found, it easily beatmy greyhound, who though he was fairly started at several,killed only one, and that quite a young one.»
1773. Sydney Parkinson, `Journal of a Voyage,' p. 149:
«Kangooroo, the leaping quadruped.»
[A description given at p. 145.]
1773. J. Hawkesworth, `Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 577:
«July 14, 1770. Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun,had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had beenso much the subject of our speculation. An idea of it willbest be conceived by the cut, plate xx., without which the mostaccurate verbal description would answer very little purpose,as it has not similitude enough to any animal already known toadmit of illustration by reference. In form it is most likethe gerbua, which it also resembles in its motion, as has beenobserved already, for it greatly differs in size, the gerbuanot being larger than a common rat, and this animal, when fullgrown, being as big as a sheep: this individual was a youngone, much under its full growth, weighing only thirty-eightpounds. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small inproportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearlyas long as the body, thick near the rump, and tapering towardsthe end: the fore-legs of this individual were only eightinches long, and the hind-legs two-and-twenty: its progress isby successive leaps or hops, of a great length, in an erectposture; the fore-legs are kept bent close to the breast, andseemed to be of use only for digging: the skin is covered witha short fur, of a dark mouse or grey colour, excepting the headand ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of a hare.In form it is most like the gerbua. This animal is called by thenatives `kangaroo.'» [This account, it will be seen, is basedon the notes of Banks.]
1774. Oliver Goldsmith, `Animated Nature,' Book VII. c. xvi.,The Gerbua,' [in four-vol. ed., vol. iii. p. 30]:
«But of all animals of this kind, that which was firstdiscovered and described by Mr. Banks is the mostextraordinary. He calls it the kanguroo; and though from itsgeneral outline and the most striking peculiarities of itsfigure it greatly resembles the gerbua, yet it entirelydiffers, if we consider its size, or those minute distinctionswhich direct the makers of systems in assorting the generalranks of nature. The largest of the gerbua kind which are tobe found in the ancient continent do not exceed the size of arabbit. The kanguroo of New Holland, where it is only to befound, is often known to weigh above sixty pounds, and mustconsequently be as large as a sheep. Although the skin of thatwhich was stuffed and brought home by Mr. Banks was not muchabove the size of a hare, yet it was greatly superior to any ofthe gerbua kind that have been hitherto known, and verydifferent in many particulars. The snout of the gerbua, as hasbeen said, is short and round, that of the discovered animallong and slender; the teeth also entirely differ, for as thegerbua has but two cutting teeth in each jaw, making four inall, this animal, besides its cutting teeth, has four canialteeth also; but what makes a more striking peculiarity, is theformation of its lower jaw, which, as the ingenious discoverersupposes, is divided into two parts which open and shut like apair of scissors, and cut grass, probably this animal'sprincipal food. The head, neck, and shoulders are very smallin proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail isnearly as long as the body; thick near the rump and taperingtowards the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance tothose of the hare. We are not told, however, from theformation of its stomach to what class of quadrupeds itbelongs: from its eating grass, which it has been seen to do,one would be apt to rank it among the ruminating animals; butfrom the canial teeth which it is found to have, we may on theother hand suppose it to bear some relation to the carnivorous.Upon the whole, however, it can be classed with none moreproperly than with the animals of the gerbua kind, as itshind-legs are so much longer than the fore; it moves alsoprecisely in the same manner, taking great bounds of ten ortwelve feet at a time, and thus sometimes escaping the fleetestgreyhound, with which Mr. Banks pursued it. One of them thatwas killed proved to be good food; but a second, which weighedeighty-four pounds, and was not yet come to its full growth,was found to be much inferior.»
1787, Surgeon Anderson, quoted by W. Eden, in `History of NewHolland' (second edition), p. 71:
«However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance withthe languages spoken here [Van Diemen's Land] and in the morenorthern parts of New Holland, before we can pronounce thatthey are totally different; nay, we have good grounds for theopposite opinion; for we found that the animal called kangarooat Endeavour River was known under the same name here.»
1781. T. Pennant, `History of Quadrupeds,' vol. i. p. 306:
No. 184. [A Scientific Description of the Kangaroo.]
1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage':
[p. 106]: «The kangaroo.»
[p. 168]: «Skeleton of the head of the kangaroo.»
[At each of these places there is a description and a picture.Under each picture the name is spelt «Kangooroo.» At p. 289there is a further note on the kanguroo. In the text at p. 149the spelling «Kangooroo» is adopted.]
Ibid. p. 104:
«The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in thepeculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression,does not belong to that genus.»
Ibid, p. 168:
«Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106,Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip a male of a muchlarger size. . . . Lieutenant Shortland describes them asfeeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and assures us thatone is always observed to be apparently upon the watch at adistance from the rest.»
1789. Watkin Tench, `Account of the Settlement of PortJackson,' p. 171:
«Kangaroo was a name unknown to them [the aborigines of Port Jackson] for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showed Colbee [an aboriginal] the cows brought out in the Gorgon he asked me if they were kangaroos.»
1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 66:
«The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour,called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorang), we foundin great numbers.»
Ibid. p. 568:
«I had a kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry to Lord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty. – – Nov. 26, 1791.»
[There is no statement whether the animal reached England.]
Ibid. p. 402:
«In rowing up this branch, we saw a flock of about thirtykangaroos or paderong, but they were only visible during theirleaps, as the very long grass hid them from our view.»
1809. G. Shaw, `Zoological Lectures,' vol. i. p. 94:
«The genus Macropus or kangaroo . . . one of the mostelegant as well as curious animals discovered in modern times.» [Under the picture and in list of contents: Kanguroo.]
1814. M. Flinders, `Voyage to Terra Australis,' Introd.p. lxiii:
«An animal found upon one of the islands is described [byDampier, `Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 123] as `asort of raccoon, different from that of the West Indies,chiefly as to the legs; for these have very short fore legs;but go jumping upon them' [not upon the short fore, but thelong hind legs, it is to be presumed] `as the others do; andlike them are very good meat.' This appears to have been thesmall kangaroo, since found upon the islands which form theroad; and if so, this description is probably the first evermade of that singular animal» [though without the name].
1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,'p. 57:
«Coursing the kangaroo and emu forms the principal amusementof the sporting part of the colonists.
(p. 68): The colonists generally pursue this animal [kangaroo]at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage,notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at thedeath.»
1833. Charles Lamb, `Essays of Elia' [edition 1895], p. 151,`Distant Correspondents':
«The kangaroos – – your Aborigines – – do they keep their primitivesimplicity un-Europe-tainted, with those little short forepuds, looking like a lesson framed by nature to thepick-pocket! Marry, for diving into fobs they are ratherlamely provided a priori; but if the hue and cry wereonce up, they would show as fair a pair of hind-shifters as theexpertest loco motor in the colony.»
1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. iii. p. 106:
«Those that were noticed were made of the red kangaroo-skin.»
1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar of the Languagespoken by the Aborigines, at Hunter's River,' p. 87:
«Kong-go-rong, The Emu, from the noise it makes, and likelythe origin of the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the English, asthe name of an animal, called Mo-a-ne.»
1835. T. B. Wilson, `Narrative of a Voyage round the World,etc.' p. 212:
«They [natives of the Darling Range, W.A.] distinctlypronounced `kangaroo' without having heard any of us utter thatsound: they also called it waroo, but whether theydistinguished `kangaroo' (so called by us, and also by them)from the smaller kind, named ` wallabi,' and by them` waroo,' we could not form any just conclusion.»
1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 23:
«Kangaroos are of six different species, viz. the forester,the flyer, the wallaby, the wallaroo, the kangaroo-rat,and the kangaroo-mouse.» [This is of course merely a popular classification.]
1845. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 15:
«A kangaroo, like all his race,
Of agile form and placid face.»
1861. W. M. Thackeray, `Roundabout Papers', p.83:
«The fox has brought his brush, and the cock has brought hiscomb, and the elephant has brought his trunk and the kangaroohas brought his bag, and the condor his old white wig and blacksatin hood.»
1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 8:
«To return to the marsupials. I have been assured thatthe kangaroos come first and eat off the grass; that thewallabies, following, grub up the roots.»
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114:
«Sometimes a kangaroo would come down with measured thud,thud, and drink, and then return without noticing the humanbeings.»
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 118:
«According to the traditions of the bush – – not alwaysreliable – – the name of kangaroo was given under a misconception.An aborigine being asked by one of the early discoverers thename of the animal, replied, `Kangaroo' (`I don't know'), andin this confession of ignorance or misapprehension the nameoriginated. It seems absurd to suppose that any black hunterwas really ignorant of the name of an animal which oncerepresented the national wealth of Australians as the merinodoes to-day.»
[The tradition is not quite so ridiculous, if the answermeant – – «I don't know what you mean, – – I don't understand you.» See above.]
1891. `Guide Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':
«In this enclosure is a wooden model of a kangaroo of ancienttimes. This is copied from a restoration by Professor McCoy,who was enabled to represent it from fossil remains which havebeen unearthed at various places in Australia.»
1896. E. Meston, `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18:
«The origin of the word `kangaroo' was published by me sixyears ago. Captain Cook got it from the Endeavor River blacks,who pronounce it to-day exactly as it is spelled in the greatnavigator's journal, but they use it now only for the big toe.Either the blacks in Cook's time called the kangaroo `big toe'for a nick-name, as the American Indians speak of the `bighorn,' or the man who asked the name of the animal was holdingit by the hind foot, and got the name of the long toe, theblack believing that was the part to which the questionreferred.»
1896. Rev. J. Mathew, Private Letter, Aug. 31:
«Most names of animals in the Australian dialects refer to theirappearance, and the usual synthesis is noun + adjective; theword may be worn down at either end, and the meaning lost tothe native mind.
«A number of the distinct names for kangaroo show arelation to words meaning respectively nose, leg, big, long, either with noun and adjective to combination orone or other omitted.
«The word kangaroo is probably analysable into kaor kang, nose (or head), and goora, long, both words or local equivalents being widelycurrent.»
2) Wild young cattle (a special use) – – 1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i.p. 290:
«A stockyard under six feet high will be leaped by some ofthese kangaroos (as we term them) with the most perfect ease,and it requires to be as stout as it is high to resist theirrushes against it.»
3) Used playfully, and as a nickname for persons and thingsAustralian. An Australian boy at an English school isfrequently called «Kangaroo.» It is a Stock Exchange nicknamefor shares in Western Australian gold-mining companies.
1896. `Nineteenth Century' (Nov.), p. 711:
«To the 80,000,000 Westralian mining shares now in existencethe Stock Exchange has long since conceded a special `market';and it has even conferred upon these stocks a nickname – – thesurest indication of importance and popularity. And that`Kangaroos,' as they were fondly called, could boast ofimportance and popularity nobody would dare to gainsay.»
4) A kind of chair, apparently from the shape.
1834. Miss Edgeworth, `Helen,' c. xvi. (`Century'):
«It was neither a lounger nor a dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor aNelson, nor a Kangaroo: a chair without a name would never do;in all things fashionable a name is more than half. Such ahappy name as Kangaroo Lady Cecilia despaired of finding.»