Etymograph

English

kangaroo

Kangaroo comes from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru ‘eastern grey kangaroo’.

  1. Guugu Yimidhirrmoderngangurru1‘eastern grey kangaroo’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1770kangaroo1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English kangaroo
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1770, James Cook: “Besides the Animals which I have before mentioned, called…”.

Lineage

  1. Guugu YimidhirrmoderngangurruWiktionary, English kangaroo‘eastern grey kangaroo’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1770kangarooWiktionary, English kangaroo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1770, James Cook: “Besides the Animals which I have before mentioned, called…”

The story

Despite a popular misconception, the Guugu Yimidhirr term does not mean "I don't know".

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

noun A member of the Macropodidae family of large marsupials with strong hind legs for hopping, native to Australia and New Guinea.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kangaroo”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru / kangaroo