kookaburra

English

WOTD - 31 December 2011    

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkʊkəˌbʌɹə/

• Audio (US)

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Etymology

From Wiradhuri gugubarra (“Dacelo novaeguineae”).

Noun

kookaburra (plural kookaburras)

1. Any of several species of kingfishers in the genus Dacelo, known for their laugh-like call.

Translations

kingfishers

Chinese: Mandarin: 笑翠鳥 (zh), 笑翠鸟 (zh) (xiàocuìniǎo), 柯卡布拉 (zh) (kēkǎbùlā) Finnish: nauraja (fi) German: Jägerliest (de) m., Lachender Hans (de) m.

Japanese: ワライカワセミ (ja) (waraikawasemi) Russian: кукабара (ru) (kukabára) f., кукабурра (ru) (kukabúrra) f., гигантский зимородок (ru) (gigántskij zimoródok) m. Spanish: cucaburra (es) f.

Synonyms

• goburra
• kooka, kooky
• laughing jackass, Jack, Jacky

Derived terms

• blue-winged kookaburra
• laughing kookaburra
• rufous-bellied kookaburra
• spangled kookaburra

References

• 2006, Dixon, R. M. W., Bruce Moore, W. S. Ramson, Mandy Thomas, Australian Aboriginal Words in English: Their Origin and Meaning, edition 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-554073-5, page p. 86: