Matthew Flinders
- proper noun
- Matthew Flinders was the first to accurately map the Australian coastline in the early 19th century.
Examples
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Matthew Flinders charted large sections of the Australian coastline in the early 19th century.
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Many historians credit Matthew Flinders with giving Australia its name.
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The statue of Matthew Flinders stands outside the State Library as a tribute to his achievements.
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Did you know Matthew Flinders was a famous explorer?
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Matthew Flinders mapped much of Australia in the early 1800s.
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Historians regard Matthew Flinders as a key figure in the naming of Australia.
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A statue honoring Matthew Flinders can be found in many Australian cities as a reminder of his explorations.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A British explorer and sailor who mapped much of Australia's coastline and showed it was a continent
Surface Forms
Morphology
Matthew + Flinders
This is a personal name (given name + surname), so knowing the constituents 'Matthew' and 'Flinders' does not allow a learner to infer the biographical information (British explorer, mapped Australia). Proper names are arbitrary referents rather than compositional lexical items, so their meaning (who the person was) is not derivable from the parts and is therefore unpredictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Matthew Flinders was a British sailor who sailed along much of the coastline and drew detailed maps, and he used the name 'Australia' in his charts and book. That's why he is often remembered as the person who helped make the name 'Australia' known.