Gangurru
/ɡaŋʊru/noun
A Guugu Yimithirr word referring to a kangaroo, especially a large or dark kangaroo.
Did you know?The English word “kangaroo” is generally traced to Guugu Yimithirr gangurru, recorded during Captain Cook’s 1770 voyage along Australia’s east coast.
Etymological Timeline
Before 1770
Guugu Yimithirr
gangurru
“A kangaroo; the word was used by Guugu Yimithirr speakers in northeastern Queensland.”
1770
English record
kangaroo
“Joseph Banks recorded a form resembling kangaroo after encountering the animal and its name near the Endeavour River.”
1770
English
kanguru
“An early recorded spelling of the Indigenous name in accounts of Cook’s voyage.”
18th Century
English
kangaroo
“The borrowed name became established in English for the Australian marsupial.”
Modern English
English
kangaroo
“The standard English name for several large macropod marsupials; gangurru remains the source form in Guugu Yimithirr.”
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