Wallaroo

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌwɒləˈɹuː/

Definitions

1. A medium-sized marsupial native to Australia that exhibits features of both a wallaby and a kangaroo in its appearance and behavior
2. This unique animal, which inhabits Australia, is characterized by its hybrid traits that blend attributes of wallabies and kangaroos
3. A medium-sized marsupial found in Australia, displaying physical and behavioral characteristics that are a blend of both wallabies and kangaroos

Etymology: The name is a borrowing from Dharug, the language of the Sydney region, where "walaru" was the local word for this animal. It is a tempting but mistaken guess that the name is a blend of "wallaby" and "kangaroo," probably because the wallaroo's size falls between those two animals. Its name instead records an Aboriginal word that European settlers encountered and adopted. The animal itself is a rock-dwelling member of the kangaroo family, and the word preserves a piece of the language of the land it came from. Words borrowed this way often arrive in English with their sounds mostly intact, which is why "wallaroo" still sounds so unlike the blended names it is sometimes mistaken for.

Synonyms: kangaroo, marsupial