Billabong

Billabong

Billabong is an Australian English word meaning a smallish lake, specifically an oxbow lake, a stagnant pool of water attached to a waterway. [Clarke, R. [http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/WM/WMTerms.html "Australianisms in 'Waltzing Matilda'"] , Australian National University, 10 December 2003. Last accessed 16 September 2007] Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. Despite some claims of a Scottish Gaelic origin, [Skilton, St J. [http://ethesis.unifr.ch/theses/downloads.php?file=SkiltonS.pdf "The Survey of Scottish Gaelic in Australia and New Zealand"] , p. 300, quoting a respondent to his survey: "'Bill' = 'bile' = 'lip or mouth' and 'abong' is from 'abhainn' = 'river' with a parasitic 'G' added. A billabong probably has a mouth shape of sorts being at a bend in a river." University of Fribourg, Switzerland, June 2004. Last accessed 15 March 2008.] the word is most likely from the Wiradjuri term bilabaŋ. [Ludowyk, F. [http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/pubs/ozwords/October_2004/Billy.html "Of Billy, Bong, Bung, & 'Billybong'"] , Australian National University, no date. Last accessed 15 March 2008.] [ [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billabong "Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online"] . Last accessed 15 March 2008.]

Billabongs appear relatively often in Australian literature. One of the most prominent references is in the opening line of Banjo Paterson's famous folk song "Waltzing Matilda".

References


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