Worrigal
/ˈwɒrɪɡəl/noun
An Australian English word for a wild dog or dingo, especially in historical usage.
Did you know?Worrigal is a variant of warrigal, a colonial-era English borrowing associated with Indigenous Australian languages and later used for both dingoes and wild, untamed people or animals.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-colonial Australia
Australian Indigenous language
wirriga / war'gal
“A regional Indigenous form associated with the dingo or wild dog; the exact source language is disputed.”
1780s
English
warrigal
“An Australian wild dog or dingo, recorded in early colonial descriptions.”
19th Century
Australian English
warrigal
“A dingo; also figuratively, something wild or untamed.”
19th–20th Century
Australian English
worrigal
“A variant spelling of warrigal, used for a wild dog or dingo.”
Modern English
English
worrigal
“A rare Australian term for a dingo or wild dog.”