68 Keble, Aboriginal Plant Names. [v<^''^xxxi'v 



from de, from, and eurt (by association), tuber, which was 

 eaten by the natives. Terr at, Cut-leaved Geranium, Geranium 

 dissectiim, Linne, is an ehded form of ter, from, and eurt, root. 

 The roots were eaten by the Tasmanian aboriginals, and 

 doul)tless by those of Australia (Maiden). 



Nan gert (nan yurt), Twining Glycine, Glycine clandestina, 

 Wendl., comes from nan, above, above the surface. This 

 syllable occurs in myng nin, forehead (from myng, eye, and 

 nin, above — i.e., above the eyes), and in nin nin e bourt, lungs 

 (above the belly — bourt — i.e., above the belly). The native 

 word refers to some upper portion of the Twining Glycine, 

 probably the stems, which are tough and fibrous, and may 

 have been of value to the natives as a fibre. 



Kulk, the other name for tree, and also wood, forest, stick, 

 &c., &c., occurs as part of ter ru galk, a branch of a tree ; bun 

 ger look (l)in kulk or bin kul luk), stringy-bark ; and several 

 words ending in luk or look. Kul luk, boomerang or throwing 

 stick, is, I believe, the key to kulk, the latter being simply an 

 elided form of the former, which is derived from kul, sharp 

 or pointed, and luk, a form of lup, strong. Kulk was a word 

 to refer to those timbers suitable for weapons. 



Riik, eurt, and kulk throw a light on the psychology of the 

 Kulin blackfellow that was little suspected. Ruk, with all 

 its variations, seems to have been a wide and general term for 

 a tree or any part of one. It never occurs by itself, and it 

 is probably very primitive. Eurt or yurt occurs by itself as 

 well as a dissyllable, and it is, too, more applicable to a shrub 

 than a tree, although attached to bo, small, it signifies a 

 vegetable. It is also very primitive, and, like ruk, is onomato- 

 poeic. Later than either of the preceding is kulk, a word for 

 those trees that provided suitaljle timbers for the natives' 

 offensive and defensive weapons. 



Kill is one of the most familiar roots in the Kulin dialects. 

 It means pointed, sharp, edged ; hence to cut, wound, gash, 

 &c., &c. Its syllabic synonyms come under one of two groups 

 — namely, (a) pointed, to pierce, thrust, enter ; hence a pointed 

 instrument or weapon, as the mon gile (mon kul), double-barbed 

 spear ; kul lap, a needle ; kul lup, fork ; Ian geel (Ian kul), a 

 pointed club ; wil gul, hawk (beak) ; kul in, man (das mannliche 

 glied) ; bru gl bru gl (ber kul), a thistle, &c., &c. (6) Edged, 

 sharp, bladed, to cut, gash, &c., &c., as in kul pen kul pen gee 

 up, a knife ; kul luk, a wooden sword, &c. ; kul bul ling ur rook, 

 native tomahawk, &c., &c. It occurs as kool in (kul in), 

 Common Spider Orchid, Caladenia Patersoni, R. Brown, as a 



