CANBERRA, Nov 15: First they captured the heart of the nation and now they’ve captured the history books with the “Matildas” waltzing in to be named Australia’s word of the year.
Each year the Australian National Dictionary Centre, based at the Australian National University, selects a word or expression that has gained prominence in the national landscape over the past 12 months.
After their mega semi-final run at the Women’s Fifa World Cup, the soaring popularity of the Australian women’s football team has led to the choice of “Matilda” for 2023.
The team name Matildas, Tillies for short, and its singular form were front and centre in newspapers and on banners in August as football mania overtook the country.
The Matildas’ semi-final against England was the most-watched TV program in decades, reaching more than 11 million people. Their success packed out live sites, pubs and living rooms, and even sparked debate about a national public holiday.
The centre’s director, Dr Amanda Laugesen, said this year’s choice had been easy given the massive popularity of the team and the word’s long history in Australian English tradition.
She said it was also a nod to the growth in women’s sport, inspiring a new generation of women to the game.
“From the 1880s matilda was one of the names for a swag, a bag of possessions carried by an itinerant man looking for work,” she said. “These days most people would only know this in relation to the song Waltzing Matilda.
“It’s only since the mid-1990s that the women’s soccer team has been called the Matildas, but after this year’s World Cup the word has once again cemented itself in the Australian lexicon.”
The team was known as the Female Socceroos until 1995 when the broadcaster SBS ran a naming competition for viewers. Other options included the Soccertoos, Blue Flyers, Waratahs and Lorikeets. (Agencies)
