WONDROUS WORDS- Billabong
August 2, 2010
Bailey Wilson
Word Count: 185 words
Today on Wondrous Words, we’ll focus on the word billabong. B-I-L-L-A-B-O-N-G.
Billabong is a word from Australia, meaning a branch of a river flowing away from mainstream
to a dead end and is only filled with water during rainy season. The word originated around 1865 from
the word “Billabang” spelt with an “A”, which means “backwater” or “stagnant pool”. It was also the
aboriginal name of the Bell River and can be split into two parts, for “billa” means river or creek, and
“bong” means to die.
The famous clothing brand created by Australian surfer Gordon Merchant, also named
Billabong, was inspired by Australia’s uniqueness and the original meaning of an oasis. In fact, the logo
is composed of a picture of two waves that are motionless and not running together, just like how water
does not flow through a billabong.
I’m Bailey Wilson with the word story of Billabong, here on KEOM’s Wondrous Words. If
you’d like to hear this, or any of the other Wondrous Words from the past week, just log on to w-w-w
dot k-e-o-m dot f-m to find our podcasts.
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Sources:
"Billabongs | Define Billabongs at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words
at Dictionary.com. Web. 29 July 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Billabongs>.
Dawson, Beth. "The History Behind Billabong." Ezine Articles. 12 May 2009. Web. 29 July 2010.
<http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-Behind-Billabong&id=2335603>.