Editing Koala (section)

==Etymology==
The word "koala" comes from the [[Sydney Language|Dharug]] {{lang|xdk|gula}}, meaning {{gloss|no water}}. Although the vowel "u" was originally written in the [[English orthography]] as "oo" (in spellings such as ''coola'' or ''koolah''—two syllables), the spelling for that sound later became "oa"; the word is now pronounced in three syllables (''ko-a-la'') possibly in error [[spelling pronunciation|based on that new spelling]].<ref name=Dixon>{{cite book |first1=R. M. W. |last1=Dixon |first2=B. |last2=Moore |first3=W. S. |last3=Ramson |first4=M. |last4=Thomas |year=2006 |title=Australian Aboriginal Words in English: Their Origin and Meaning |edition=2nd |page=65|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-554073-4}}</ref> Another hypothesis is that "koala" was an aboriginal name from the [[Hawkesbury River]] district near Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Koala |url=https://wildlife.org.au/news-resources/educational-resources/species-profiles/mammals/koala/#:~:text=Its+Australian+indigenous+name+is,River+district+(near+Sydney)|website=Species Profiles  |publisher=Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland}}</ref>

Adopted by white settlers, the word "koala" became one of hundreds of [[List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin|Aboriginal loan words in Australian English]], where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear",<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward E. Morris |title=Dictionary of Australian Words ''(orig)'' Austral English |year=1898}} This author strongly deprecated use of another synonym, "sloth".</ref> later "koala bear", for its resemblance to a bear.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> It is one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English alongside words like "didgeridoo" and "kangaroo".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite journal|last1=Leitner|first1=Gerhard|last2=Sieloff|first2=Inke|year=1998|title=Aboriginal words and concepts in Australian English|journal=World Englishes|volume=17|issue=2|pages=153–69|doi=10.1111/1467-971X.00089|quote=Dixon et al. (1990) believe there to be some 400 loans in Mainstream Australian English [...] Some Aboriginal expressions have entered the stock of world English vocabulary; witness kangaroo, didgeridoo, koala, [...] Sometimes popular usage deviated markedly from scientific taxonomies, as in the case of the koala which became known as koala bear. [...] Both mallee and mallee scrub, koala, and koala bear are common today.}}</ref>

The koala's [[genus|generic]] name, ''[[Phascolarctos]]'', is derived from the Greek words {{lang|grc|φάσκωλος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|phaskolos}}) {{gloss|pouch}} and {{lang|grc|ἄρκτος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|arktos}}) {{gloss|bear}}. The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], {{lang|la|cinereus}}, is Latin for {{gloss|ash coloured}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=Collins Latin Gem Dictionary |first=D. A. |last=Kidd |year=1973 |publisher=Collins|page=53|isbn=978-0-00-458641-0}}</ref>