alcheringa

or Al·che·rin·ga

[ al-chuh-ring-guh ]

/ ˌæl tʃəˈrɪŋ gə /

Save This Word!

noun

(in Australian Aboriginal mythology) dreamtime.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of alcheringa

First recorded in 1895–1900, alcheringa is from the Aranda word aljerreŋe

Words nearby alcheringa

Alcestis, alchem., alchemist, alchemize, alchemy, alcheringa, Alchevsk, Alcibiades, alcid, Alcides, alcidine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use alcheringa in a sentence

Precisely the same fable occurs in Central Australian myths of the Alcheringa, or legendary past.
Myth, Ritual And Religion, Vol. 2 (of 2)|Andrew Lang
They are personages wholly comparable to those of the Alcheringa.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life|Emile Durkheim
Each of these Alcheringa ancestors carried about with him or her one or more of the sacred stones called churinga.
Folklore as an Historical Science|George Laurence Gomme
The tribal stores of churinga are not the same as the places where churinga were dropped in the Alcheringa.
Magic and Religion|Andrew Lang

According to Arunta tradition, their ancestors in the Alcheringa were endogamous.
The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions|Carveth Read

British Dictionary definitions for alcheringa

alcheringa

/ (ˌæltʃəˈrɪŋɡə) /

noun

another name for Dreamtime

Word Origin for alcheringa

from a native Australian language, literally: dream time

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012