wurley
Americannoun
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an Aboriginal person's shelter, made of branches and leaves.
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a nest, especially a rat's nest.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wurley
First recorded in 1840–50; from Kaurna (an Australian Aboriginal language, now extinct, spoken at the present site of Adelaide), recorded as wa(d)li
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He looked up at the visitors, half in and half out of the wurley, and on his hands and knees just like an animal.
From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)
In case of a man having two wives, the elder is always regarded as the mistress of the hut or wurley.
From Austral English A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia by Morris, Edward Ellis
They also used to assist me in making a wurley or breakwind whenever they shifted camp.
From Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia by Wills, William John
Poor Wills's remains we found lying in the wurley in which he died, and where King, after his return from seeking for the natives, had buried him with sand and rushes.
From Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia by Wills, William John
They also used to assist me in making a wurley, or breakwind, whenever they shifted camp.
From A Source Book of Australian History by Swinburne, Gwendolen H.
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.
