matilda

See also: Matilda

English

Alternative forms

• Matilda

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məˈtɪldə/

Noun

matilda (plural matildas)

1. (Australia) A bundle of possessions, often tied up in a sack; a swag.
   • 1906, A. B. Paterson, On The Road to Gundagai, The Old Bush Songs, Gutenberg eBook #10493,

     In a week the spree was over and the cheque was all knocked down, / So we shouldered our “Matildas,” and we turned our backs on town, / And the girls they stood a nobbler as we sadly said “Good bye,” / And we tramped from Lazy Harry’s, not five miles from Gundagai;

   • 1999, Milton Finkelstein, Global geography:

     When a hobo roams through the outback with a matilda on his back, he is said to be “waltzing matilda.”

Derived terms

• waltz Matilda