Ranga
/ˈræŋ.ə/noun
An Australian informal term, sometimes derogatory, for a person with naturally red or reddish hair.
Did you know?The term is commonly understood as a shortening of “orangutan,” whose name came through Malay orang hutan, literally “forest person,” although the red-hair association is a later Australian slang development.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 17th Century
Malay
orang hutan
““Forest person,” the Malay name for the orangutan”
17th Century
Dutch
orang-oetan
“A borrowing of Malay orang hutan, referring to the great ape”
18th Century
English
orang-outang
“An orangutan; an early English form borrowed through European languages”
19th Century
English
orangutan
“The standard modern English name for the reddish-brown Southeast Asian ape”
Late 20th–Early 21st Century
Australian English
ranga
“Informal Australian slang for a red-haired person, probably clipped from orangutan”
Explore more surprising origins