from Latin Terra Australis (16c.), from australis "southern" + -ia. A hypothetical southern continent, known as terra australis incognita, had been proposed since 2c. Dutch explorers called the newfound continent New Holland; the current name was suggested 1814 by Matthew Flinders as an improvement over Terra Australis "as being more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the name of the other great portions of the earth" ["Voyage to Terra Australis"]. In 1817 Gov. Lachlan Macquarie, having read Flinders' suggestion, began using it in official correspondence. The ultimate source is Latin auster "south wind," hence, "the south country."
The Latin sense shift in australis, if it is indeed the same word other Indo-European languages use for east (see aurora), for which Latin uses oriens (see orient), perhaps is based on a false assumption about the orientation of the Italian peninsula, "with shift through 'southeast' explained by the diagonal position of the axis of Italy" [Buck]; see Walde, Alois, "Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch," 3rd. ed., vol. 1, p.87; Ernout, Alfred, and Meillet, Alfred, "Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine," 2nd. ed., p.94. Or perhaps the connection is more ancient, and from PIE root *aus- "to shine," source of aurora, which also produces words for "burning," with reference to the "hot" south wind that blows into Italy. Thus auster "(hot) south wind," metaphorically extended to "south."
Australia 英文释义
1. a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony
2. the smallest continent; between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean
Australia 双语例句
1. Australia's rugby union side enjoyed a record-breaking win over France.
澳大利亚的英式橄榄球联盟队创纪录地赢了法国队。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I'vebeen dragged back from Australia for no sufficient reason.
没有充分的理由，我就从澳大利亚被硬叫了回来。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Australia, put in to bat, made a cautious start.
轮到澳大利亚队出场击球，他们开始打得很谨慎。
来自柯林斯例句
4. He decided to do something about reforesting man-made wastes of western Australia.
他决定为在澳大利亚西部人为导致荒芜的土地上重新造林做点事情。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Blake emigrated to Australia with his family at 13.
布莱克在13岁时随家人移民到了澳大利亚。
来自柯林斯例句
Australia 实用场景例句
Australia's rugby union side enjoyed a record-breaking win over France.
澳大利亚的英式橄榄球联盟队创纪录地赢了法国队。
柯林斯例句
Australia, put in to bat, made a cautious start.
轮到澳大利亚队出场击球，他们开始打得很谨慎。
柯林斯例句
He decided to do something about reforesting man-made wastes of western Australia.
他决定为在澳大利亚西部人为导致荒芜的土地上重新造林做点事情。
柯林斯例句
What we are planning is cutting-edge technology never seen in Australia before.
我们正在开发的是一种在澳大利亚从未有过的尖端技术。
柯林斯例句
I'm going to be surfing bigger waves when I get to Australia!
到了澳大利亚后我要去浪头更大的地方冲浪！
柯林斯例句
Papua New Guinea became independent from Australia in 1975.
巴布亚新几内亚1975年脱离澳大利亚正式独立。
柯林斯例句
The dispute could destroy Australia's hard-won reputation for industrial stability.
这场纠纷可能会让澳大利亚劳资关系稳定这一来之不易的名声毁于一旦。
柯林斯例句
Do you think they have a chance of beating Australia?
你认为他们有可能击败澳大利亚吗？
柯林斯例句
In Rugby League, Australia trounced France by sixty points to four.
在联盟橄榄球赛上，澳大利亚队以60：4的比分大胜法国队。
柯林斯例句
Helen is a very well-known novelist in Australia.
海伦是澳大利亚非常著名的小说家。
柯林斯例句
Environmentalists say Australia is already overpopulated.
