Dictionary

texta en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

By trademark erosion from Texta, a registered trademark of Australian stationery company Jasco Pty Ltd. Presumably from text. Usage of the word began from the 1970s, when primary school children in Australia used the brand of felt-tip markers with bright, colourful packaging, prominently displaying the name "TEXTA".

Meanings

1. (Australia) A coloured felt-tip pen, usually wide-tipped for use by children.
   • He pencilled a map of India onto a piece of chipboard, and then went over the outline with a texta. He went over the texta outline with a razorblade and then, with a knife, he cut away the excess chipboard. 2008, Ghristopher Cyrill, “The Ganges and Its Tributaries”, in Alice Pung, editor, Growing Up Asian in Australia, page 40:
   • 2009, Colin McLaren, Infiltration: The True Story of the Man Who Cracked the Mafia, Melbourne University Press, page 53, Minute weighing scales sat on top of desks, glass syringe kits lay idle, mug shots were pinned here and there, some with a dart in the forehead, or ′caught′ written in texta.
   • Here is what a wombat burrow may look like. Using coloured pencils or textas, colour in the wombat burrows. 2003, Mark Fox, Discovering Australian Animals, page 34:

Forms

Relateds

The Original Texta