kookaburra

English

WOTD – 31 December 2011

A kookaburra

Etymology

Borrowed from Wiradjuri guuguubarra (“laughing kookaburra”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊkəˌbʌɹə/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊkəˌbaɹə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊkəˌbʌɹə/, /ˈkʊkəˌbɝɹə/

• Audio (US, without the hurry–furry merger):

  (file)

• Audio (US, hurry–furry merger):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌɹə

Noun

kookaburra (plural kookaburras)

1. Any of several species of kingfishers in the genus Dacelo.

Synonyms

• (informal): kooka, kooky
• (laughing kookaburra): alarm bird, breakfast bird, clockbird, goburra, gogobera, laughing jackass, jackass, Jacky
• (blue-winged kookaburra): howling jackass, Leach's kingfisher

Derived terms

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

Translations

kingfishers

• Arabic: كوكابورا
• Asturian: cucaburra m
• Belarusian: кукаба́ра f (kukabára)
• Bulgarian: кукабура f (kukabura)
• Catalan: cucaburra m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 笑翠鳥 / 笑翠鸟 (zh) (xiàocuìniǎo), 柯卡布拉 (kēkǎbùlā)

• Dutch: kookaburra (nl)
• Esperanto: kukabarao
• Estonian: kuukabarra
• Finnish: nauraja (fi)
• French: kookaburra (fr) m, martin-chasseur géant (fr) m
• Gamilaraay: gurruulga, gugaa, gugurrgaagaa
• German: Jägerliest m, Kookaburra m
• Greek: κουκαμπούρα f or n (koukampoúra)
• Guugu Yimidhirr: gugurrgaagaa
• Hebrew: קוקברה (kukabára)
• Hungarian: kokabura
• Icelandic: kókabúrra f, hláturfugl n
• Indonesian: kukabura (id)
• Irish: cúcabarra
• Italian: kookaburra m
• Japanese: ワライカワセミ (warai kawasemi), 笑翡翠 (わらいかわせみ, warai kawasemi), 笑い翡翠 (わらいかわせみ, warai kawasemi)
• Kaurna: kukatka, ngungana
• Korean: 쿠카부라 (kukabura)
• Linngithigh: ngga'angk
• Norwegian: kokaburra
• Ossetian: кукабаррӕ (kukabarræ)
• Panyjima: nhithinypa
• Persian: کوکابورا (kokâburâ)
• Polish: kukabura (pl) f
• Portuguese: kookaburra f, cucaburra f
• Punjabi: ਕੂਕਾਬਰਾ (kūkābrā)

  Western Punjabi: کوکابرا (kokābrā)

• Russian: кукаба́ра f (kukabára), кукаба́рра (ru) f (kukabárra), кукабу́рра f (kukabúrra), гига́нтский зиморо́док m (gigántskij zimoródok)
• Samoan: kukapala
• Slovak: kukabara f
• Spanish: cucaburra f
• Swedish: kookaburra c, kokaburra c
• Tagalog: kukabura
• Tamil: கூக்கபரா (kūkkaparā)
• Welsh: cwcabyra m
• Wiradjuri: guuguubarra, guguburra
• Woiwurrung: gurrng gurrng

References

• Dixon, R. M. W., Bruce Moore, W. S. Ramson, Mandy Thomas (2006), Australian Aboriginal Words in English: Their Origin and Meaning, 2nd ed. edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 86

Further reading

• kookaburra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia