Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An Australian evergreen coniferous tree (Araucaria bidwillii) having tiers of whorled branches, sharp-pointed leaves, and large cones containing edible seeds.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The native Australian name of the Araucaria Bidwilli, a very large tree, the wood of which is strong, durable, and sometimes beautifully marked. The seeds are a favorite article of food with the natives.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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'That's the bunya-bunya, and the nuts are splendid roasted in the ashes
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We were going through the bunya-bunya country not far from our station, when out of the Bush there came a black gin with two half-caste girls, she ran up and stopped the buggy and implored my mother's protection for her girls because the
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One of the most remarkable trees they met with was the bunya-bunya, a species of pine.
The Young Berringtons The Boy Explorers William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
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"When tribes [of Australians] assembled to eat the fruit of the bunya-bunya they were not permitted to kill any game [in the district where the trees grow], and at length the craving for flesh was so intense that they were impelled to kill one of their number, in order that their appetites might be satisfied." [
Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals William Graham Sumner 1875
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