Dreamtime
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The time of the creation of the world, by the ancestors out of their own essence.
"No, Brian Elliott's hobby-horse is not the Jindyworobaks' political links—it is his conviction that they are to be remembered and well respected for their awareness of Aboriginal myth and legend and for their understanding and symbolic poetical use of the alcheringa concept (the Dreamtime myth of the creation of geological Australia and its flora and fauna with the related religious and moral connotations of site-worship and animism) ."
- 2 Alternative form of Dreamtime. alt-of, alternative, proscribed
"Initially, having been denied access to men's society and their secret ceremonies, Munn encountered the dreamtime among women, in the occasion of their daily storytelling."
Example
More examples"I want to know more about the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime or Dreaming."
Etymology
A false calque of Eastern Arrernte Altyerrenge (“the Dreaming”), based on the incorrect assumption that the word is related to altyerre (“a dream”) or altyerre areme (“to dream”). "-time" is an addition unrooted in Aboriginal language.
Related phrases
More for "dreamtime"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.