International Journal of Lexicography Advance Access originally published online on April 27, 2009
International Journal of Lexicography 2009 22(2):179-188; doi:10.1093/ijl/ecp012
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Australian Aboriginal Words in Dictionaries: A Reaction1
Australian National University, AIATSIS (david.nash{at}anu.edu.au)
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A recent evaluation of how English dictionaries have treated the etymologies of some words borrowed from Australian languages was based on the author's own etymologies. I have examined one of these, for boomerang, and show that it incorporates inaccuracies and distortions, and that the criticism of J. A. H. Murray's etymology is unfounded. I suggest how the author's methodology may have led him astray.
1I am grateful to Bruce Moore and the ANDC (ANU's Australian National Dictionary Centre) for access to the citation slips, and to David Wilkins for his comments on a draft.