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bogan

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bogan¹

  • /ˈboʊɡən/

Rhymes with -əʊɡən

Where it comes from

Unknown. First appeared in Australia in the 1980s. Possibly in reference to supposedly unsophisticated people from remote outback places such as the Bogan River or Bogan Gate (cf. dubbo from Dubbo).

noun bogans

  1. Australia, New Zealand, slang An unsophisticated person from a working class background. Bogans were Lockie's least favorite kind of people.

    Similar: adlay, bam, Barry boy, bazza, benny, bogan, bopper, brush, charva, charver, chav, dobber

  2. New Zealand, derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur An Anglo-Celtic member of a lower socioeconomic group, stereotypically classified as wearing black jumpers or black concert T-shirts.

    Similar: bevan, westy, westie, booner, white trash

  3. New Zealand, derogatory, slang A petrolhead.

verb bogans · boganning · boganned

  1. derogatory, rare To act like a bogan. If you're coming in to cause trouble, don't bother […] bogan it up at home.

bogan²

  • /ˈboʊɡən/

Rhymes with -əʊɡən

Where it comes from

Uncertain. Perhaps a contraction of pokelogan influenced by bog (or bogue), or a blend of logan (from pokelogan) + bog.

noun bogans

  1. Canada, Maine Any narrow water or creek, particularly a tranquil backwater. All around the shores of the narrow bogan crowded the beasts, watching with wide, fascinated eyes the flight and fall of these disastrous missiles.
  2. Canada, North, Ontario, Western, derogatory, offensive An indigenous person. Negative Stereotypes: Indians, natives, bogans, nates, […]

Bogan³

Where it comes from

Uncertain. Possibly from an Australian Aboriginal language.

proper noun

  1. A river of central to northern New South Wales, Australia, a tributary to the Darling.
  2. A local government area in New South Wales, Australia; in full, Bogan Shire.
  3. A locality in the Warren council area, northern New South Wales, Australia.

Bogan⁴

Where it comes from

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Bogáin (“descendant of Bogán”), a personal name from a diminutive form of bog (“soft, tender”).

proper noun Bogans

  1. A surname from Irish.

Translations

Every language

noun unsophisticated or lower class person

日本語田舎者 inakamono
中文土包子 tǔbāozi, 鄉巴佬 /乡巴佬 xiāngbalǎo
DeutschProll
Русскийлох lox, быдло bydlo

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Cite this
MLA

"bogan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bogan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bogan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bogan

Chicago

"bogan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bogan.

BibTeX
@misc{bogan_2026,
  title = {bogan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bogan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}