Where "Dilly Bag" Comes From
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
"Dilly" comes from Turrubal / Yagara (the Aboriginal language of the Brisbane area), from dili, meaning a small woven bag made from woven grass, pandanus, or kurrajong bark fibres.
Traditionally used mainly to carry gathered food and other items, often worn on a cord around the neck. The term was later also used more generally by non-Indigenous Australians.
“She packed her water bottle, knife, and sunnies into her dilly bag before heading down to the creek.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
Dilly bags remain celebrated masterpieces of contemporary Indigenous textile art, woven with great skill across northern Australia.
Informally used by older generations of Australians to refer to a shopping tote or utility pouch.
ð Sources & Further Reading
- Borrowings from Aboriginal Languages â Australian National Dictionary Centre, ANU
- List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin — Wikipedia
- Dillybag - Wikipedia
Part of our Aboriginal Loanwords collection →
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