| 释义 |
▪ I. kangaroo, n.|kæŋgəˈruː|
Also 8 kanguru, -gooroo, 8–9 -guroo, (8 gamgarou).
[Stated to have been the name in a native Australian lang.
Cook and Banks believed it to be the name given to the animal by the natives at Endeavour River, Queensland, and there is later affirmation of its use elsewhere. On the other hand, there are express statements to the contrary (see quots. below), showing that the word, if ever current in this sense, was merely local, or had become obsolete. The common assertion that it really means ‘I don't understand’ (the supposed reply of the native to his questioner) seems to be of recent origin and lacks confirmation. (See Morris Austral English s.v.)
1770Cook Jrnl. (1893) 224 (Morris) (Aug. 4) The animals which I have before mentioned, called by the Natives Kangooroo or Kanguru. 1770J. Banks Jrnl. (1896) 301 (Aug. 26) The largest [quadruped] was called by the natives kangooroo. 1787Anderson in Cook's Voy. (1790) IV. 1295 We found, that the animal called kangooroo, at Endeavour River, was known under the same name here [in Tasmania]. 1792J. Hunter Port Jackson (1793) 54 The animal..called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorong) we found in great numbers. 1793W. Tench Compl. Acc. Port Jackson 171 The large, or grey kanguroo, to which the natives [of Port Jackson] give the name of Pat-ag-a-ran. Note, Kanguroo was a name unknown to them for any animal, until we introduced it. 1834Threlkeld Austral. Gram. (Hunter's River) 87 (Morris) Kóng-go-róng, the Emu..likely the origin of the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the English, as the name of an animal called Mo-a-ne. 1835T. B. Wilson Narr. Voy. World 211 (ibid.) They [natives of the Darling Range, W.A.] distinctly pronounced ‘kangaroo’ without having heard any of us utter the sound. 1850Jrnl. Ind. Archipelago IV. 188 (Kangaroo.) It is very remarkable that this word, supposed to be Australian, is not to be found as the name of this singular marsupial animal in any language of Australia..I have this on the authority of my friend Captain King. ]
1. A marsupial mammal of the family Macropodidæ, remarkable for the great development of the hind-quarters and the leaping-power resulting from this. The species are natives of Australia, Tasmania, Papua, and some neighbouring isles; the larger kinds being commonly known as kangaroos, and the smaller ones as wallabies. (Also used by sportsmen as a collective plural.)
The first species known in Europe was the great kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), discovered by Captain Cook in 1770; the male of this is about 6 feet in height when standing erect.
1773J. Hawkesworth Voy. III. 578 (1st Voy. Cook) The next day our Kangaroo was dressed for dinner and proved most excellent meat. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. vii. xvi. II. 434 The kanguroo of New Holland, where only it is to be found, is often known to weigh above 60 pounds. 1796Gentl. Mag. LXVI. i. 467 The Gamgarou, or as Pennant calls it Kangaroo, is a native of New South Wales. 1845Darwin Voy. Nat. xix. (1852) 441 Now the emu is banished to a long distance and the kangaroo is become scarce. 1884Boldrewood Melb. Mem. iii. 23 Though kangaroo were plentiful, they were not..overwhelming in number.
2. With qualifying words, as antelope or antilopine kangaroo, one of the larger kangaroos (Halmaturus antilopinus); banded k., the banded wallaby (genus Lagostrophus); brush k. = wallaby (cf. brush n.1 4); forest k. (cf. forest n. 5); giant, great († sooty) k., Macropus giganteus (see 1); hare-k., a small kangaroo, of the genus Lagorchestes (cf. hare n. 6); musk k., a very small kangaroo (genus Hypsiprymnodon); rat-k. = kangaroo-rat; rock k., the rock-wallaby (genus Petrogale); tree k., an arboreal kangaroo (genus Dendrolagus).
1802Barrington Hist. N.S. Wales viii. 273 A place..thickly inhabited by the small brush kangaroo. 1825Field N.S. Wales Gloss., Forest-kangaroo, Macropus major. 1836Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XIV. 129/1 A still larger species, called the sooty kangaroo..inhabits the south coast of New Holland. Ibid., The banded kangaroo..inhabits the islands on the west coast of New Holland. 1839Penny Cycl. XIV. 463/1 Skeleton of Macropus major (the Great Kangaroo). 1841J. Gould Monograph Macropod. i. Plate xii, That division of the family which includes the Rat and Jerboa Kangaroos. Ibid., The name of Hare Kangaroo has been given to this species [Lagorchestes leporoïdes]. Ibid. ii. Plates xi & xii, Dendrolagus ursinus and D. inustus,..two very remarkable and highly interesting species of Tree Kangaroos. 1846G. R. Waterhouse Nat. Hist. Mamm. I. 96 The Antilopine Kangaroo is clothed with short stiff hairs, and these lie close to the skin, as in many of the Antelope tribe. Ibid. 168 The specimens of the Brush-tailed or Rock Kangaroo in the British Museum were..procured by Mr. Gould from the Liverpool Range. 1856Knight Cycl. Nat. Hist. III. 712 The Hare-Kangaroo is a pretty little Kangaroo, about the size of the common hare. 1863Gould Mammals Austr. II. 54 No other species of Rock Kangaroo has yet been discovered with such short and scanty hair as the Petrogale brachyotis. Ibid. 57 The Tree-Kangaroo has only in one instance been brought alive to Europe. 1881Encycl. Brit. XIII. 840/2 The potoroos or rat-kangaroos are small animals, none of them exceeding a common rabbit in size.
3. fig.
a. An animal which leaps like a kangaroo.
b. One who advances by fitful jumps.
1827P. Cunningham N.S. Wales I. xvi. 290 A stock⁓yard under six feet high, will be leaped by some of these kangaroos (as we term them) with the most perfect ease. 1865Cornh. Mag. Feb. 213 I'm capable of a great jerk, an effort, and then a relaxation—but steady every-day goodness is beyond me. I must be a moral kangaroo!
c. humorous. A native of Australia.
1888Pall Mall G. 12 Apr. 5/2 The ‘kangaroos’—as our colonial friends are sometimes dubbed. 1897Globe 9 July 1/4 Thomas Atkins..has nicknamed the Colonial troops the ‘Kangaroos’.
†d. A kind of chair (? named from its shape).
1834M. Edgeworth Helen I. xv, It was neither a lounger, nor a dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor a Nelson, nor a kangaroo.
e. A form of bicycle with sloping backbone, introduced in 1884: an early form of the ‘safety’ type.
1884Cyclist 9 July 1 (Advt.) The ‘Kangaroo’. ‘Premier Safety Bicycle’. Since its introduction early in the present season [etc.]. 1884Wheel. World Nov. 241/1 The long-anticipated ‘Kangaroo Safety Bicycle’ run duly came off. 1897Mecredy & Wilson Art Cycling 28 In 1884 came the great ‘Kangaroo’ rage..the ‘Kangaroo's’ popularity waned rapidly.
f. pl. In Stock Exchange slang: West Australian mining shares; also, dealers in these shares.
189619th Cent. Nov. 711 Westralian mining shares..‘Kangaroos’, as they were fondly called. 1897Westm. Gaz. 10 June 8/1 Even among the lively Kangaroos, practical joking in the House seems to have come to a full stop. Ibid. 1 Oct. 8/1 The Kangaroos are coming on..but other markets..are still awaiting the public's pleasure.
g. Applied to a form of Parliamentary closure by which some amendments are selected for discussion and others excluded.
1913Q. Rev. Apr. 551 The ‘kangaroo’ or selection by the Chairman of Committee of the amendments to be discussed. 1927[see guillotine resolution s.v. guillotine n. 4].
h. A system of containerized freight transportation by railway in which a loaded road trailer complete with wheels is carried on a flat rail car; also called ‘piggyback’.
1967Guardian 3 July 6/3 On the European continent..there has recently been a very rapid increase in ‘Kangaroo’, the system of piggyback for road trailers and semi-trailers developed by French railways. 1969Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 p. iii/2 Rolling stock and terminals designed for containers should be owned or operated, or..TOFC (‘piggyback’ or ‘kangaroo’) equivalent should be owned or operated. Ibid. 178/1 Vehicles available: T.I.R. flat and kangaroo trailers.
4. attrib. and Comb.
a. General combs., as kangaroo attitude, kangaroo hunt, kangaroo hunting, kangaroo leather, kangaroo market (sense 3), kangaroo net, kangaroo tail, kangaroo tendon; also kangaroo-like adj., kangaroo-wise adv.
1828P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 82 Kangaroo-leather boots. 1835Court Mag. VI. 11/2 The finical air and kangaroo attitude with which his kid-gloved hands hold the white reins. 1859Cornwallis New World I. 197 Kangaroo-tail soup, which was there [Melbourne] much esteemed. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith Note F 447 This kind of reasoning neither marches nor soars: it progresses kangaroo-wise—by wide leaps. 1884Stand. Nat. Hist. V. 96 The..Pocket-mice, a number of which are jerboa-like or kangaroo-like. 1894Mrs. C. Praed Chr. Chard I. i. 8 They knighted him because he got up a kangaroo hunt for a prince. 1897Westm. Gaz. 10 June 8/1 In the Kangaroo market..the outlook is equally favourable.
b. Special combs.: kangaroo-apple, the edible fruit of the Australian plants Solanum laciniatum (or aviculare) and Solanum vescum; also, the plants bearing this; kangaroo-bear, the Australian tree-bear or koala (Encycl. Dict. 1885); kangaroo-beetle, a beetle with enlarged hind-legs, esp. one belonging to the genus Sagra; kangaroo closure (see 3 g); kangaroo court orig. U.S., an improperly constituted court having no legal standing, e.g. one held by strikers, mutineers, prisoners, etc.; kangaroo-dog, a large dog trained to hunt the kangaroo; kangaroo-fly, a small Australian fly (Cabarus); kangaroo('s)-foot-plant, the Australian plant Anigozanthus Manglesii (Treas. Bot.); kangaroo-grass, a tall fodder-grass (Anthistiria australis), found in Australasia, Southern Asia, and Africa; kangaroo-hound = kangaroo-dog; kangaroo justice, the trying of a person by an unauthorized court, as a kangaroo court; also, the decision of such a court, taken with a disregard for normal legal procedures and criteria; kangaroo mouse, (a) the Australian pouched mouse; (b) a small American rodent of the genus Perognathus; kangaroo paw, an Australian herb belonging to the genus Anigozanthos of the family Hæmodoraceæ; kangaroo ship (see quot.); kangaroo-shoot, a hunting expedition to shoot kangaroos; hence kangaroo-shooter, -shooting; kangaroo-skin, the skin of the kangaroo used as leather or fur; kangaroo-thorn, an Australian spiny shrub (Acacia armata) used for hedges; kangaroo-vine, an evergreen climber, Cissus antarcticus (Craig 1848). Also kangaroo-rat.
1834Ross Van Diemen's Land Ann. 133 (Morris) The *kangaroo-apple, resembling the apple of a potato. 1846G. H. Haydon 5 Yrs. Austral. Felix 85 (ibid.) The kangaroo-apple..is a fine shrub found in many parts of the country.
1839Westwood Insects I. 214 A South American insect, figured long since by Francillon, under the name of the *Kangaroo Beetle..in which the size of the hind legs is still more extraordinary. 1883Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 348 The large brilliantly-metallic Sagræ, or Kangaroo-beetles of tropical Asia and Africa.
1930Times Educ. Suppl. 22 Nov. p. i/1 It will be necessary to further restrict the rights of private members of the House of Commons by use of what is known as ‘The *Kangaroo Closure’.
1853‘P. Paxton’ Stray Yankee in Texas 205 By a unanimous vote, Judge G― was elected to the bench and the ‘Mestang’ or ‘*Kangaroo Court’ regularly organized. 1895Harper's Mag. Apr. 718/2 The most interesting of these impromptu clubs is the one called in the vernacular the ‘Kangaroo Court’. It is found almost entirely in county jails. 1931‘Dean Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 209 Kangaroo court, mock court held in jail for the purpose of forcing new prisoners to divide their money. 1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 66/1 Kangaroo Court, a jail tribunal comprised of inmates which collects money from prisoners awaiting trial to supply the needy with tobacco, food and a few luxuries—its decision regarding disputes is final. 1966Times 14 Mar. 10/1 Shop stewards at Theale are to meet tomorrow to consider paying back the sums levied by a kangaroo court. 1971Times 20 Jan. 15/3 Citizens who live in the riotous areas [of N. Ireland] deserve protection from..kangaroo courts. 1973C. Mullard Black Brit. iii. vii. 81 Such practices are surely more like those of a kangaroo court than those that the Race Relations Board should encourage.
1806Hist. N.S. Wales (1818) 265 (Morris) Four valuable *kangaroo-dogs. 1850J. B. Clutterbuck Port Phillip iii. 35 A cross of the Scotch greyhound and English bulldog, called the Kangaroo dog. 1890R. Boldrewood Col. Ref. (1891) 314 A brace of rough greyhounds—the kangaroo-dog of the colonists.
1833C. Sturt S. Australia I. ii. 71 (Morris) Our camp was infested by the *kangaroo-fly, which settled upon us in thousands.
1827P. Cunningham N.S. Wales I. xii. 209 Of native grasses we possess the oat-grass, rye-grass, fiorin, *kangaroo-grass, and timothy. 1884Boldrewood Melb. Mem. 19, I..feel the thick Kangaroo grass under my feet.
1865M. A. Barker Station Life N. Zeal. 28 (Morris) A large dog, a *kangaroo-hound (not unlike a lurcher in appearance).
1909Daily Chron. 15 Jan. 6/7 It seems to me to be something like *Kangaroo justice. 1966Oxford Mail 11 Mar. 1/6 The unconstitutional strike at B.M.C. Service, Cowley, and the ‘kangaroo justice’ to which seven men were subjected.
1867Amer. Naturalist I. 394 They are known in the vernacular as ‘*Kangaroo’ or ‘Jumping’ Rats and Mice, and are entirely confined to Transmississippian regions. 1888Macdonald Gum Boughs 256 (ibid.) The tiny interesting little creature known on the plains as the ‘kangaroo-mouse’.
1875J. Miller First Fam'lies Sierras (1876) xxx. 243 Wood-rats, kangaroo-mice..had gone into winter-quarters under the great logs. 1902Western Austral. Year-Bk. 1900–01 I. ii. ix 304 Some of the most remarkable flowers in the flora of Western Australia [are]..*Kangaroo Paws, of which there are nine species altogether. 1949D. Walker We went to Austral. 184 With the kangaroo paw it is the stalk that is scarlet and the blending of the colours peculiar. 1966Times 11 Nov. (W. Austral. Suppl.) p. iv/2 The red-and-green kangaroo paw (Anigosanthus manglesii, the state's floral emblem) is a barbaric cluster of rich green-and-gold, paw-like flowers on a regal three-foot stem of deep scarlet, yet it is only one of nine species known to exist in the state.
1919H. Jenkins John Dene of Toronto (1920) ii. 32 ‘A ‘mother’ ,’ he explained, ‘is a *kangaroo-ship, a dry-dock ship for salvage and repair of submarines.’
1933Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Oct. 11/3 The royal pair had been participating in a *kangaroo-shoot.
1902J. H. M. Abbott Tommy Cornstalk i. 11 Indeed, it is doubtful whether there is any better shot in the world than the *kangaroo-shooter. 1963A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 15 The kangaroo-shooters go out at night in cars, and the kangaroos..are shot down.
1888A. C. Gunter Mr. Potter vi. 80 The Australian has been accustomed to *kangaroo-shooting.
1777Cook in Bischoff Van Diemen's Land (1832) II. 41 These females wore a *kangaroo skin. 1828P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 151 A desperate-looking ruffian habited in a huge hairy cap and shaggy kangaroo-skin jacket. 1872C. H. Eden In Queensland 106 (Morris) Kangaroo-skin boots are very lasting and good.
Hence kangaˈrooer, one who hunts kangaroos.
1909in Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1936A. Russell Gone Nomad viii. 63 That night we hobbled out at a kangarooer's camp.
Sense 3 h in Dict. becomes 3 i. Add: [3.] h. pl. (With capital initial.) A nickname for the Australian international † rugby union or rugby league team, esp. as a touring party. Cf. wallaby n. 1 b.
1911Sydney Morning Herald 4 Oct. 8/4 The side over which the Kangaroos so convincingly triumphed was a powerful one. 1930J. Buchan Castle Gay i. 14 The Kangaroos had two halves possessed of miraculous hands and a perfect knowledge of the game. 1933Bulletin (Sydney) 27 Sept. 24/4 The Kangaroos continued their good run in the North of England last week. 1945Baker Austral. Lang. ix. 178 Just as New Zealand football representatives acquired the names All Blacks, Fernleaves, and Kiwis, so did Australian representatives become known as Kangaroos, Wallabies and Waratahs. 1964Rugby League News Oct. 4 Mr. W. G. Buckley..presided at the Kangaroos' Annual Re-Union..on..September 20. 1986Open Rugby Sept. 16/1 The ‘Australian influence’ of 1982 is now certainly taking effect, but will it be in time for us to take on and beat the 1986 Kangaroos?
▸ kangaroo care n. a method of caring for a baby, esp. a premature one, which emphasizes the importance of holding the infant in skin-to-skin contact with a parent (typically the mother) for as long as possible each day.
1991Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 5 Mar. c4/1 (advt.) *Kangaroo Care: Find out about a new program at St Joseph's Health Center that gives parents of premature babies a chance to cuddle up with their newborn infants. 2005Baby & You Feb. 62/1 ‘Kangaroo care’ is a touch therapy popular in neonatal intensive care units, where it can have dramatic effects.
▪ II. kangaroo, v.|kæŋgəˈruː|
[f. prec. n.]
1. intr. To hunt the kangaroo. Chiefly in pres. pple. and vbl. n.
1849C. Sturt Centr. Austr. I. 91 [The natives] were about to go out kangarooing..They had their hunting spears. 1890R. Boldrewood Robbery under Arms 15 We were sick of kangarooing, like the dogs themselves. ― Miner's Right (1899) 135/2, I lent it to him to go kangarooing.
2. intr. To make a great jump (lit. and fig.).
1889Chicago Advance 12 Dec., Those who kangaroo from the foregoing inferences..to the conclusion that [etc.]. 1892Pall Mall G. 19 Sept. 2/3 When the horses kangarooed over the 8-ft. water-jump. |