noun
- a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by the Australian Aborigines as a throwing club, one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower.
- something, as a scheme or argument, that does injury to the originator.
- Theater.
- a mobile platform, adjustable to different levels, for painting scenery.
- a batten, usually suspended vertically in the wings, for holding lighting units.
verb (used without object)
- to come back or return, as a boomerang.
- to cause harm to the originator; backfire.
noun
- a curved flat wooden missile of native Australians, which can be made to return to the thrower
- an action or statement that recoils on its originator
verb
- (intr) to recoil or return unexpectedly, causing harm to its originator; backfire
1827, adapted from an extinct Aboriginal languages of New South Wales, Australia. Another variant, perhaps, was wo-mur-rang (1798).
1880, from boomerang (n.).