Borrowed from Dharuk 'bumariny' in the 1820s, 'boomerang' entered English naming a weapon that — in its most common Aboriginal form — never actually returned, yet became globally iconic specifically for the property of return, generating a powerful metaphor that the original weapon rarely exhibited.
A curved flat wooden implement of Australian Aboriginal origin, designed to be thrown through the air; the returning variety curves back to the thrower, while non-returning boomerangs are used as hunting weapons.
From Dharuk 'bumariny' or a closely related form from the Sydney region Aboriginal languages, first recorded in English around 1822. The Dharuk were the Aboriginal people of the Sydney basin, and the word was among the earliest Aboriginal terms documented by European settlers of New South Wales. Crucially, the returning boomerang is only one type: the majority of boomerangs used by Aboriginal Australians are non-returning weapons designed for hunting
Most boomerangs used by Aboriginal Australians do not return — the returning boomerang is a specialized minority type, primarily used in bird hunting over water. The word's metaphorical meaning in English (an action that rebounds on its originator) ironically emphasizes the return that most real boomerangs never made.