Waddy

Waddy

A Waddy, nulla nulla or hunting stick is an Australian Aboriginal war club. The former name comes from the Dharuk Aborigines of Port Jackson, Sydney[1].

A waddy is a heavy club constructed of carved timber. Waddies have been used in hand to hand combat, and were capable of splitting a shield, and killing or stunning prey. In addition to this they could be employed as a projectile as well as used to make fire and make ochre. They found further use in punishing those who broke Aboriginal law.

They were made by both men and women and could be painted or left unpainted. Their construction varied from tribe to tribe, but they were generally about one metre in length and sometimes had a stone head attached with bees wax and string. They were made from where a branch met the tree, or from a young tree pulled up with its roots from the ground.

Originally, the word waddy referred to a tree, or any piece of wood, as well as a verb meaning to 'beat up or kill with a club'.

It has also been spelled as wadi, wady, and waddie. The spelling stabilised around the mid-nineteenth century, partly to help distinguish it from the Arabic word wadi, a dry water course.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Peters, Pam, The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide, Cambridge University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-521-43401-7



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Waddy — Wad dy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Waddied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Waddying}.] To attack or beat with a waddy. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • waddy — ☆ waddy1 [wäd′ē ] n. pl. waddies [< the native name] in Australia, a short, thick club used by Aborigines as a weapon vt. waddied, waddying to strike or beat with a waddy ☆ waddy2 [wäd′ē ] n. pl. waddies [< ?] …   English World dictionary

  • Waddy — Wad dy, n.; pl. {Waddies}. [Written also {waddie}, {whaddie}.] [Native name. Thought by some to be a corrup. of E. wood.] [Australia] 1. An aboriginal war club. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. A piece of wood; stick; peg; also, a walking stick. [Webster …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Waddy — On rencontre le nom en Martinique, mais il est surtout présent en Angleterre. C est un hypocoristique de Walthew, nom de personne anglo scandinave composé des racines val (= bataille) et thiofr (= voleur, sans doute pour désigner celui qui… …   Noms de famille

  • Waddy — Ein Waddy, das als nulla nulla oder als hunting stick von den Aborigines Australiens bezeichnet wird, ist eine Keule. Der Name Waddy stammt von den Darug Aborigines von Port Jackson, Sydney.[1] Die hölzerne Keule der Aborigines wurde kriegerisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • waddy — /ˈwɒdi / (say wodee) noun (plural waddies) 1. an Aboriginal heavy wooden war club: *When later they walked through the bush, Murra, carrying his spears, his woomera, his waddy, stone knife and stone axe, led the way. –hyllus maris and sonia borg …  

  • Waddy — Recorded in many spellings (see below) this unusual name, is found principally in Scotland and Northern England. It is of Anglo Scandinavian origin, and derives from a short form of the popular Olde English personal name Waltheof , adopted from… …   Surnames reference

  • waddy — I. noun (plural waddies) Etymology: Dharuk (Australian aboriginal language of the Port Jackson area) wadi stick, wooden weapon Date: circa 1790 Australian club 1a II. transitive verb (waddied; waddying) Date: 1830 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • waddy — waddy1 /wod ee/, n., pl. waddies, v., waddied, waddying. Australian. n. 1. a heavy wooden war club of the Australian Aborigines. v.t. 2. to beat or strike with a waddy. [1795 1805; < Dharuk wa di stick] waddy2 /wod ee/, n., pl. waddies …   Universalium

  • waddy — Cool Western Slang One of the words for cowboy, especially a cowboy who drifted from ranch to ranch and helped out in busy times. Jo Mora and Ramon Adams both suggest that the word derived from wad, something used to fill in, but this notion isn… …   English dialects glossary

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