Australia
[ɒ'streɪlɪə] or [ɔ'streljə]
Definition
(noun.) 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.
(noun.) the smallest continent; between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Checked by Ives--From WordNet
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A country lying in the South Sea whose industrial and commercial development has been unspeakably retarded by an unfortunate dispute among geographers as to whether it is a continent or an island.
Editor: Nicolas
Examples
- Thus the southern shores of America, Australia, and New Zealand may have become slightly tinted by the same peculiar forms of life. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- This process is going on in Northwest India and Australia. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Can I be so weak as to imagine that Mr. Micawber, wielding the rod of talent and of power in Australia, will be nothing in England? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Deep, said Wemmick, as Australia. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Nursed her as a baby, and came with her to England when they first left Australia, eighteen months ago. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The north pole will rush to the south, and the headlands of Europe be locked into the bays of Australia ere I forget. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- In Australia the problem of the transmission to the natives of various diseases, even by Europeans in apparent health, confronted his intelligence. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- In the summer I shall go to America; and then, by a plan not yet settled, I shall go to Australia and round to India. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- There is a strong presumption that the person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was someone who had been in Australia. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Clarke has lately maintained that this island, as well as New Caledonia, should be considered as appurtenances of Australia. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The boat was now somewhere south of the Suez Canal on her way to Australia. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Osborne patented in Australia, and in 1861 in the United States, a transfer process which gave such great impetus to the art that he may be considered its founder and chief promotor. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Here are some people David knows, going out to Australia shortly. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- It is to be found everywhere, even to the steppes of Asia, the plains of Australia, and the ice fields of the Arctic. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The largest landed proprietor in that part is a Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned some years ago to the old country. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Editor: Priscilla