Warrigal
/ˈwɒr.ɪ.ɡəl/noun
An Australian English word for a wild dog or dingo, and historically sometimes a wild or untamed person.
Did you know?Warrigal is an Aboriginal Australian loanword, probably from the Dharug language of the Sydney region, but its precise original form and wider Indigenous connections remain uncertain.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-colonial period
Dharug
wirriga / wurrigal
“A reconstructed or variably recorded form associated with a wild dog or dingo”
Late 18th Century
Australian Aboriginal English
warrigal
“A wild dog, especially a dingo; spelling varied in early colonial records”
1790s–1800s
Colonial Australian English
warrigal
“A wild or native dog, recorded as an Aboriginal loanword”
19th Century
Australian English
warrigal
“A dingo or wild dog; sometimes figuratively, a wild or untamed person”
Modern English
Australian English
warrigal
“A regional or historical term for a dingo, wild dog, or untamed individual”