Word.ws English Dictionary

matilda

/məˈtɪldə/

matilda noun: a bundle of possessions, often tied up in a sack; a swag.

Noun (1)

matilda (plural matildas)

  1. (Australia) A bundle of possessions, often tied up in a sack; a swag.
    • In a week the spree was over and the cheque was all knocked down, / So we shouldered our “Matildas,” and we turned our backs on town, / And the girls they stood a nobbler as we sadly said “Good bye,” / And we tramped from Lazy Harry’s, not five miles from Gundagai;1906, A. B. Paterson, On The Road to Gundagai, The Old Bush Songs, Gutenberg eBook #10493
    • When a hobo roams through the outback with a matilda on his back, he is said to be “waltzing matilda.”1999, Milton Finkelstein, Global geography

Proper noun capitalized: Matilda

Matilda

  1. A female given name from the Germanic languages.
    • But wondrously begotten, and begonne / By false illusion of a guilefull Spright, / On a faire Ladie Nonne, that whilome hight / Matilda, daughter to Pubidius, […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 13
    • Countess of Laussitz - Matilda, too, by the mark! A good name, a marvellous good name, is not, Algernon? Musical, pretty, soft, smoothing, loveable. - - - many a fair prospect is spoiled by the mistake in the name. Call Matilda Joan, or Louisa Deborah, and you are ruined forever!1844, George Payne Rainsford James, Rose D'Albret, Or, Troublous Times, a Romance, Harper, page 20

Noun (2) capitalized: Matilda

Matilda (plural Matildas)

  1. (UK, historical) Either of two British infantry tanks in use during World War II, the Infantry Tank Mark I or Infantry Tank Mark II.
    Synonyms:
    Matilda I, Matilda II
  2. (Australia, historical) A swag or bluey carried by a swagman or swagwoman.
    • Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabong,
      Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
      And he sang as he looked at the old billy boiling,
      'Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda, with me.'1895, “Waltzing Matilda”, Banjo Paterson (lyrics)

matilda meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

matilda in Hindi

मटिल्डा, माटिल्डा, मातिल्डा

matilda in Marathi

मटिल्डा, माटिल्डा, मातिल्डा

matilda in Urdu

مٹیلڈا, ماٹیلڈا, ماتیلڈا

matilda in Bengali

মাটিল্ডা, মাতিল্ডা
More languagesFewer languages
matilda in Telugu
మటిల్డా, మాటిల్డా, మాతిల్డా
matilda in Malayalam
മാറ്റിൽഡ, മടീൽഡ, മാറ്റിൽഡാ
matilda in Kannada
ಮಟಿಲ್ಡಾ, ಮಾಟಿಲ್ಡಾ
matilda in Punjabi
ਮਾਟਿਲਡਾ, ਮਟਿਲਡਾ, ਮੈਟਿਲਡਾ
matilda in Gujarati
માટિલ્ડા, મટિલ્ડા, માતિલ્ડા
matilda in Odia
ମାଟିଲ୍ଡା, ମଟିଲ୍ଡା, ମାତିଲ୍ଡା
matilda in Nepali
माटिल्डा, मटिल्डा, मातिल्डा

Synonyms of matilda

  • Matilda I
  • Matilda II

Forms of matilda

Noun
pluralmatildas
alternative formMatilda
pluralMatildas
Proper noun
alternative formMathilda

Plural of matilda: matildas

Origin of matilda

Unknown.

From Middle English Matilda, from Old French Mathilde, from Old High German Mahthilt, Mehthilt, from Proto-West Germanic *Mahtihild, from Proto-Germanic *Mahtihildiz; compare German Mechthild, Old English Mæþhild (“Matilda”).

Words formed from matilda

Phrases with matilda

Questions about matilda

What does matilda mean?
Matilda means a bundle of possessions, often tied up in a sack; a swag.
What is matilda in Hindi?
Matilda in Hindi is मटिल्डा, माटिल्डा, मातिल्डा. See Matilda meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is matilda?
Matilda can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce matilda?
Matilda is pronounced /məˈtɪldə/.
What is the plural of matilda?
The plural of matilda is matildas.

Words near matilda in the dictionary

  1. matie
  2. matier
  3. maties
  4. matiest
  5. Matignon
  6. matilda
  7. Matilda effect
  8. matildas
  9. Matildine
  10. matildite
  11. Matilija

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: matilda (page history and authors); Matilda (page history and authors); matilda (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); matilda (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Matilda.wav.

Cite this entry: “matilda.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/matilda. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.