Lexic.us

Definition of Kangaroo

1. Noun. Any of several herbivorous leaping marsupials of Australia and New Guinea having large powerful hind legs and a long thick tail.

Definition of Kangaroo

1. n. Any one of numerous species of jumping marsupials of the family Macropodidæ. They inhabit Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, They have long and strong hind legs and a large tail, while the fore legs are comparatively short and feeble. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major) is the largest species, sometimes becoming twelve or fourteen feet in total length. The tree kangaroos, belonging to the genus Dendrolagus, live in trees; the rock kangaroos, of the genus Petrogale, inhabit rocky situations; and the brush kangaroos, of the genus Halmaturus, inhabit wooded districts. See Wallaby.

Definition of Kangaroo

1. Noun. A member of a family of large marsupials with strong hind legs for hopping, mainly found in Australia, scientific name macropod. ¹

2. Noun. (Canada attributive) A hooded jacket with a front pocket, usually of fleece material, a kangaroo jacket. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Kangaroo

1. an Australian mammal [n -ROOS]

Medical Definition of Kangaroo

1. Any one of numerous species of jumping marsupials of the family Macropodidae. They inhabit Australia, new Guinea, and adjacent islands, They have long and strong hind legs and a large tail, while the fore legs are comparatively short and feeble. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major) is the largest species, sometimes becoming twelve or fourteen feet in total length. The tree kangaroos, belonging to the genus Dendrolagus, live in trees; the rock kangaroos, of the genus Petrogale, inhabit rocky situations; and the brush kangaroos, of the genus Halmaturus, inhabit wooded districts. See Wallaby. Kangaroo apple, the potoroo. Origin: Said to be the native name. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Kangaroo

Literary usage of Kangaroo

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge (1901)
"The great kangaroo was discovered in 1770 on the coast of New South Wales during ... One of the most remarkable types of kangaroo is the Tree kangaroo ..."

2. Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages with by Edward Ellis Morris (1898)
"The introduction of the word kangaroo prevents any possibility of confusion between this animal and the true rodent, and it would seem to be a matter of ..."

3. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, Jenny H. Stickney (1898)
"THE SLEDGE, MASQUERADE, AND kangaroo. CHAPTER XI. ... AND THE kangaroo. !~ HAD observed on the shore a quantity of ..."

4. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"It is the common groat kangaroo, called "boomer," "forrester," or "old man '' by the ... The earliest known species of kangaroo, referred to before. ..."

5. The Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works of Henry Thomas Buckle by Henry Thomas Buckle (1872)
"171), " We met with the kangaroo almost ever time we went into the woods." The name of kangaroo is used b; the natives of New Holland and of Van Diemen's ..."

6. A History of the Earth and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith (1856)
"He calls it the kangaroo; and though from its general outline, ... The kangaroo of New Holland, where it is only to be found, is often known to weigh above ..."

7. The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine by Charles Fenno Hoffman, Timothy Flint, Lewis Gaylord Clark, Kinahan Cornwallis, John Holmes Agnew (1853)
"and HECTOR and FLY trotted along straight to where the kangaroo lay, without turning to the right or left, but going over every thing, just as if they knew ..."

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