roo
n.a short, casual name for a kangaroo. People in Australia often use this word when they are talking about the animal in a friendly way.
n.a colloquial abbreviation for a kangaroo. Primarily used in Australian English; informal in register.
“We saw a wild roo hopping across the field.”
“While driving through the outback at dusk, you have to be careful not to hit a roo on the road.”
“The local wildlife sanctuary specializes in the rehabilitation of orphaned roos, providing them with a safe environment until they are mature enough for release into the bush.”
Informal abbreviation — common in spoken Australian English but rarely used in formal scientific writing.
From Middle English roo, ro, from Old English rō, rōw (“quietness, quiet, rest”), from Proto-Germanic rōō (“quiet, rest”), from Proto-Indo-European h₁reh₁- (“to rest; quiet”). Cognate with Scots ro, ruve (“peace, repose”), German Ruhe (“rest, peace, tranquility”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ro (“rest, peace, tranquility”), Icelandic ró (“tranquility, quietness”).
Apheretic form of kangaroo.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.