Frank Fowler, `The Athenaeum,' Feb. belonging toVan Diemen's land, the old name of Tasmania; generally usedof the convicts of the early days; and the demon inthe word is a popular application of the law of Hobson-Jobson. See Phasmid. one ofthat section of a colony of some kinds of ants which does thefighting, takes slaves, etc.
The spelling boomah seems due to a supposed native origin. The structureof the mouth and snout suggests a musical instrument, or,combined with the outline of the body, a pair of bellows. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement): Pitta Macklotii, Mull. See Marsupial Mole.
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