What does yabba mean?
Yabba is a historical Australian English noun for a shallow dish or bowl, especially one made from wood. In the sense recorded by dictionaries, it refers to an implement associated with Aboriginal Australians, rather than to a generic modern serving vessel. The term is uncommon in present-day Australian English and sounds marked, regional, and historical, so it is most likely to occur in museum, historical, or literary contexts. Its structure is simple—usually the base form plus -s in the plural—and it is normally preceded by an adjective such as shallow or wooden when the material or shape needs specifying. Though not common enough for ordinary conversation, yabba is valuable because it records a specific piece of naming history: an English word that came into general documentation from an Indigenous Australian context and preserved, in its ordinary dictionary definition, a now uncommon object name. It should not be confused with yabber, the better-known verb meaning to talk or chatter, nor with the freshwater crustacean commonly called a yabby.
nounA shallow dish or bowl, especially one traditionally made from wood and used by Aboriginal Australians.
- A shallow dish or bowl, especially one traditionally made from wood and used by Aboriginal Australians.
"The old photograph shows a woman holding a shallow wooden yabba."
"The old photograph shows a woman holding a shallow wooden yabba."
"This museum label identifies the object as a yabba, a shallow dish traditionally made from wood."
The regular plural adds -s to the singular form.
"The display included two yabbas made from wood."
Yabba preserves in ordinary dictionary use the name of a shallow wooden dish associated with Aboriginal Australians.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yabba
Yabba was borrowed into English from an Australian Aboriginal language. The borrowed word was used for a shallow wooden dish and has since become a historical or specialized term rather than a common name for a bowl.
How yabba is actually used
Chiefly Australian and now historical or specialized rather than part of ordinary contemporary usage.
Easily confused with yabba
Yabber is a verb meaning to talk or chatter, while yabba is a noun for a shallow dish or bowl.
A yabby is a freshwater crayfish, whereas a yabba is a shallow dish or bowl.