willy-willy
[ wil-ee-wil-ee ]
noun,plural wil·ly-wil·lies.Australian,Meteorology.
dust devil: A column of dust, held aloft by a willy-willy, rises high into the air in South Australia.
tropical cyclone: another willy-willy forming over the Timor Sea.
Origin of willy-willy
1First recorded in 1890–95; of obscure origin; probably from an Australian Aboriginal language
Words Nearby willy-willy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use willy-willy in a sentence
Willy—Willy, wake up; there's some one moving around outdoors.
Two Little Confederates | Thomas Nelson PageEvidently he had just arrived in White Cliffs, and had not yet been in a willy-willy (sand-storm).
In Search of El Dorado | Alexander MacDonaldA third cries, mournfully, "Willy-come-go, willy-willy-willy-come-go."
Wanderings in South America | Charles Waterton
British Dictionary definitions for willy-willy
willy-willy
/ (ˈwɪlɪˈwɪlɪ) /
nounAustralian
a duststorm
obsolete a tropical cyclone
Origin of willy-willy
1from a native Australian language
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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