First recorded in 1810–20, woomera is from the Dharuk word wu-ma-ra
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Locals believe it portrays an Aboriginal man carrying a woomera - a throwing stick - in his left hand.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2018
As the hand moves forward the spear is released by uplifting the forefinger, and the woomera remains in the hand.
From Spinifex and Sand by Carnegie, David Wynford
The spear is thrown by means of a woomera which is a slight rod about three feet long having at one end a niche to receive the end of the spear.
From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2 by Mitchell, Thomas
They can hurl their spears with terrible effect for a hundred yards or more, with the assistance of the woomera, a piece of wood which is retained in the hand, and acts as a lever.
From Wild Adventures in Wild Places by Stables, Gordon
At once every spear was raised, poised in the woomera, and directed, not at the white man, but at the native who had dared to pit his strength against a supernatural power.
From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
