Over the next few, our words of the day originate from European exploration of the seas, starting with a sailor who also displayed great skill as a map maker and writer – Captain James Cook (born in 1728, died in 1779). Before the three voyages to the Pacific Ocean which brought him lasting fame, he learned his trade on ships in North America. He was accompanied by Joseph Banks and approximately 10 others who had the task to make scientific discoveries. When they returned, their journals on their trip were funded by Sandwich (inventor of the sandwich).
Cook and Banks wrote lengthy journals which brought his voyages to life for countless readers who had never seen these exotic new lands. And these diaries are also the source of new words in the English language. The first is:
Kangoroo: Recorded by Cook when landing on the Australian coast in 1770, kangaroo was derived from the Aboriginal gangurru. One journal entry tells us that “The kanguru are in the greatest number, for we seldom went into the country without seeing some”. Another tells us the animal moves forward ”by hopping or jumping 7 or 8 feet at each hop upon its hind legs only … It bears no sort of resemblance to any European animal I ever saw.”
Then as now, kangaroos were unique to Australia, where today some 25 million live. In Australia, kangaroo meat is common and the leather is used in sporting shoes and gloves.
