Australia
/ɒˈstɹeɪ.liː.ə/ proper noun
Forms Straya 'Straya
- proper noun An island of Oceania.
- proper noun A country consisting of a main island, the island of Tasmania and other smaller islands, located in Oceania; historically, a collection of former colonies of the British Empire. Official name: Commonwealth of Australia. Capital: Canberra.
- proper noun (geology) A continent consisting of the land on the Australian tectonic plate, i.e. Australia, New Guinea and intervening islands. “He is going to Australia for his honeymoon for 10 days.”
Synonyms
Aussie Aussieland land down under New Holland Oz Terra Australis Upsidedownland Stralia Straya Meganesia Sahul Oceania Commonwealth of Australia
Etymology
First attested 16th century, from Latin terra austrālis incōgnita (“unknown southern land”), from auster (“the south wind”). Used also in 1693 (quotation below). Popularised by Matthew Flinders in 1814 (quotation below). By surface analysis, Austral- + -ia.
Distantly cognate to Austria, containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, but through German where it retained the earlier sense of “east” rather than “south”.
See also Terra Australis.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Australia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details