boomerang
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Dharug bumariny.
Pronunciation
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Noun
boomerang (plural boomerangs)
- A flat curved airfoil, that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, that was originally used in various parts of the world as hunting weapons or, in returnable types, for sports or training.
- 1884, Andrew Lang, Star Myths in Custom and Myth,
- Some resemblance to terrestrial things, it is true, everyone can behold in the heavens. Corona, for example, is like a crown, or, as the Australian black fellows know, it is like a boomerang, and we can understand why they give it the name of that curious curved missile.
- 1897, Warren Bert Kimberly, History of West Australia,
- With boomerang and spear they hunted the kangaroo and emu, and fought their battles beneath the eucalyptus forests; their minds, fresh, untroubled, contented, oblivious alike of noble ideals and philosophic principles.
- 1961, Charlie Drake, song, My Boomerang Won't Come Back,
- "Don't worry, boy, I know the trick, / And to you I'm gonna show it. / If you want your boomerang to come back, / Well first you've got to... throw it."
- 1884, Andrew Lang, Star Myths in Custom and Myth,
- A breakdancing move in which the performer walks on his or her hands while keeping the legs raised off the ground.
Synonyms
Translations
flat curved airfoil
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See also
Further reading
Verb
boomerang (third-person singular simple present boomerangs, present participle boomeranging, simple past and past participle boomeranged)
- (intransitive) To return or rebound unexpectedly, especially when the result is undesired; to backfire.
- 1882 March 7, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Stark Munro Letters,
- "Well, there must be some flaw about this," I suggested. "If your magnet is so strong as all that, you would have your own broadside boomeranging back upon you."
- 1899 November, "Showin' Off" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 99, Number 594,
- "Oh," they yelled, "you could, eh? Well, let's see you do it, then! Let's see you do it! Let's see you do it! Now!" In a moment the crew of little spectators were gibing at Horace. The blow that would make Jimmie's humiliation complete! Instead, it had boomeranged Horace into the mud.
- 1985 February 2, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address,
- Our future economic success depends on the economy growing faster than government spending. That's why raising taxes would boomerang. Economic growth would slow, revenues would decline, and the budget deficit would swell.
- 1882 March 7, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Stark Munro Letters,
- (intransitive) To travel in a curved path.
- 1894, Henry Lawson, The Mystery of Dave Regan in Short Stories in Prose and Verse,
- He said that to the horse as it boomeranged off again and broke away through the scrub.
- 1894, Henry Lawson, The Mystery of Dave Regan in Short Stories in Prose and Verse,
Derived terms
See also
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from English boomerang, from Dharug bumariny.
Noun
boomerang c (definite singular boomerangen, indefinite plural boomeranger, definite plural boomerangerne)
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English boomerang.
Pronunciation
Noun
boomerang m (plural boomerangs)
Further reading
- “boomerang”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Spanish
Alternative forms
Noun
boomerang m (plural boomerangs)
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Dharug
- English terms derived from Dharug
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- en:Weapons
- Danish terms borrowed from English
- Danish terms derived from English
- Danish terms borrowed from Dharug
- Danish terms derived from Dharug
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- French terms borrowed from English
- French terms derived from English
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns