blackboy

Noun

blackboy (plural blackboys)

1. (Australia, obsolete, offensive, possibly) An Aboriginal boy or servant.
   • A moment later he beckoned the blackboy to his side, and when he arrived pointed to the ground. The boy gesticulated in answer, and then both pulled their horses to a standstill and waited for me to come up.1898, Guy Boothby, Billy Binks—Hero, republished in Ken Gelder, Rachael Weaver, The Anthology of Colonial Australian Adventure Fiction, page 118
   • September 30th, 1905.—Examined some hills in the locality. A Chinaman and some blackboys are camped here with some cattle belonging to the Mount Diamond butcher.1906, South Australian Geology Department, Henry Yorke Lyell Brown, Robert Etheridge, Reports (geological and general) resulting from the explorations made by the government geologist and staff...
2. (Australia, informal) Any plant in the genus Xanthorrhoea, native to Australia.
   • As with many things, the pioneers followed the natives in the use of the Blackboy. They also found that the gum possessed some property that will cure dysentery and other internal complaints. The gum was also used for dyeing, tanning and varnishing.1946, Walkabout, volume 13, page 49
   • The gum from the blackboy trees was used for the making of varnish and stain, […]1966 November 8, Parliament of Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates, page 2181

   Synonyms:

   balga, grasstree, grass tree, yakka