dingo
[ ding-goh ]
/ ˈdɪŋ goʊ /
noun, plural din·goes.
a wolflike, wild dog, Canis familiaris dingo, of Australia, having a reddish- or yellowish-brown coat.
Australian. a cowardly or treacherous person.
Nearby words
Origin of dingo
First recorded in 1789, dingo is from the Dharuk word din-gu tame dingo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for dingo
dingo
/ (ˈdɪŋɡəʊ) /
noun plural -goes
a wild dog, Canis dingo, of Australia, having a yellowish-brown coat and resembling a wolf
Australian slang a cheat or coward
verb -goes, -going or -goed (intr) Australian slang
- to act in a cowardly manner
- to drop out of something
(foll by on) to let (someone) down
Word Origin for dingo
C18: native Australian name
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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dingo
1789, Native Australian name, from Dharruk (language formerly spoken in the area of Sydney) /din-go/ "tame dog," though the English used it to describe wild Australian dogs. Bushmen continue to call the animal by the Dharruk term /warrigal/ "wild dog."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper