Australia
Satellite image of Australia (English def. 1)
Meaning
Proper Noun
- country Oceania (continent) .
- The continent of Australia-New Guinea. New Guinea and the intervening islands are also on the Australian tectonic plate and are thus geologically considered part of the continent.
Related
Similar words
- Aussie , Aussieland , land down under, New Holland , Oz , Terra Australis , Upsidedownland
- Meganesia, Sahul
Broader meaning words
Origin
- First attested 16th century, from Latin terra austrālis incōgnita, from auster. Used also in 1693 (quotation below). Popularised by Matthew Flinders in 1814 (quotation below).
- Distantly cognate to Austria – same Proto-Indo-European root, but via German where it retained the earlier sense of “east” rather than “south”.
- See also Terra Australis.
Modern English dictionary
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