dinkum

[ ding-kuhm ]

adjectiveAustralian.

genuine; authentic.

Origin of dinkum

First recorded in 1890–95; origin uncertain, possibly from Lincolnshire dialect dincum, dinkum “work, hard work,” extended to mean “doing one's fair share of work”

Also fair din·kum [fair-ding-kuhm] /ˈfɛər ˈdɪŋ kəm/ .

Words Nearby dinkum

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How to use dinkum in a sentence

No one in the Australian army but knows the meaning of "dinkum."
"Over There" with the Australians | R. Hugh Knyvett
"dinkum yakker" all right, and about three-parts of it not necessary, if I'd only known.
From Chart House to Bush Hut | Charles W. L. Bryde

British Dictionary definitions for dinkum

dinkum

/ (ˈdɪŋkəm) /

adjectiveAustralian and NZ informal

genuine or right: a dinkum bloke
fair dinkum genuine or true: used to emphasize the truth of something or in asking for the truth of something to be confirmed: Back to the states? Fair dinkum?

dinkum oil archaic the truth

Origin of dinkum

C19: from English dialect: work, of unknown origin

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

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