[boo-muh-rang] 
| 1. | a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by the Australian Aborigines as a throwing club, one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower. |
| 2. | something, as a scheme or argument, that does injury to the originator. |
| 3. | Theater.
|
| 4. | to come back or return, as a boomerang. |
| 5. | to cause harm to the originator; backfire. |
| boo·mer·ang (bōō'mə-rāng') n.
To have the opposite effect from the one intended; backfire. [Dharuk bumariny.] Word History: The words we have borrowed from native languages of Australia, such as billabong, budgerigar, dingo, kangaroo, koala, kookaburra, waddy, and wallaby, generally have the exotic sound of down under, and boomerang is no exception. In a book about the languages of New South Wales published in 1790 is found the native term boo-mer-rit, glossed "the scimitar," because of the curved shape of the boomerang. In 1825 in a passage containing the first recorded instance of the English form boomerang we are told it is "a short crested weapon which the natives of Port Jackson [now part of Sydney] project with accurate aim into a rotary motion." In 1827 another commentator says that this term "may be retained for want of a more descriptive name." |
