Quokka

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkwɒkə/

Definitions

1. A diminutive marsupial indigenous to Australia, famous for its amiable personality
2. This herbivorous animal from Australia is distinguished by its appealing grin and sociable habits
3. A small, sociable marsupial native to Australia, known for its friendly demeanor and distinctive smile

Etymology: The quokka is a small wallaby-like marsupial of southwestern Australia, and its name comes from the Nyungar (Nyunga) language of the southwest of Western Australia. The source word was "kwaka," and the animal's name in English is borrowed directly from it. Europeans encountered the animal in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but the name the English-speaking world uses today is the local Indigenous word rather than a European invention. The word is one of the few animal names in English that preserves an Aboriginal Australian term without much alteration. Its spelling settled into "quokka" as English speakers adapted the sound of the original into their own orthography, which is why the modern form does not look much like "kwaka" at first glance.

Synonyms: marsupial, macropod