wurley
Americannoun
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wurleys,
plural
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wurlies
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
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
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
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)
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.
For a moment he faced the white man, swaying unsteadily, then he turned and went away to his wurley, leaving the drover victor on the field where he had so nearly met his death.
From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)
We also saw to-day dilapidated old yards, where they had formerly yarded emu or wallaby, though we saw none of their wurleys, or mymys, or gunyahs, or whatever name suits best.
From Australia Twice Traversed, Illustrated, by Giles, Ernest
Having found water here, we were prepared to find numerous traces of natives, and soon saw old camps and wurleys, and some recent footmarks.
From Australia Twice Traversed, Illustrated, by Giles, Ernest
I felt very lonely, and at night usually slept in deserted wurleys belonging to the natives.
From Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia by Wills, William John
In sheer desperation I dismounted and picked up a small wooden utensil from one of the wurleys, thinking if I could only get a drink I should summon up pluck for the last desperate plunge.
From Australia Twice Traversed, Illustrated, by Giles, Ernest
In about four miles this led me to the lower end of a very large reach of water, and on the opposite side were numbers of native wurleys.
From Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia by Wills, William John
The camp where the drover was obliged to live consisted of thirty or forty wurlies on the side of a little hill above a spring.
From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)
The wurlies were made from branches pulled from the ragged trees which grew around, and stuck in the sand with their tops brought together.
From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)
A terrible tragedy was about to be enacted in front of that cluster of sordid wurlies.
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.
