rabbit-proofadj.n.
/ˈrabɪtˌpruːf/, U.S. /ˈræbətˌpruf/ A. adj.
Resistant to rabbits; (esp. of fencing, netting, etc.) that keeps rabbits out.
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the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or invulnerability > specific invulnerability
pistol-proof1590
stick-free1621
rabbit-proof1832
thief-proof1856
1832 G. Sinclair Useful & Ornamental Planting iii. 26 The fence of a forest-tree nursery requires to be rabbit-proof.
1894 W. Robinson Wild Garden (ed. 4) xv. 209 Periwinkle, which is named amongst rabbit-proof plants, is generally eaten to the ground in severe weather.
1906 Athens (Ohio) Messenger 14 June Anything dipped in a tea steeped from the bark of the weed was rabbit-proof for a long time thereafter.
1962 D. Pike Australia viii. 150 Making substantial loans to small settlers for..homes, wells, barbed wire and rabbit-proof fencing.
2006 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 24 June 20 They fenced off an area of woodland and removed rabbit-proof netting which is no longer needed.
B. n.
Australian. = rabbit-proof fence n. at Compounds.
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1895 Bulletin (Sydney) 20 July 27/3 Beyond the furthest rabbit-proof, barbed wire and common wire.
a1902 H. Morant in Penguin Bk. Austral. Ballads (1964) 212 But once we're through the rabbit-proof..it's ‘West-by-North’ again.
1927 M. H. Ellis Long Lead 75 Second last gate in the ‘rabbit proof’, the barrier of small-meshed wire netting which Queenslanders believe to be the longest fence in the world.
1976 D. Hewett Bonbons & Roses for Dolly 28 Best little ticket takers this side of the rabbit-proof.
Compounds
rabbit-proof fence n. a fence designed to be impassable to rabbits; (Australian) (frequently with the) any of various fences of this type, esp. regarded as a regional boundary.
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1881 Fresno (Calif.) Republican 27 July Around this square mile paradise, will be made a broad avenue or drive..and inside of this a rabbit proof fence.
1896 H. Lawson While Billy Boils 40 The town is right on the Queensland border, and an interprovincial rabbit-proof fence—with rabbits on both sides of it—runs across the main street.
1927 T. S. Groser Lure of Golden West 221 (heading) Beyond the rabbit-proof fence.
1965 Tracks we Travel 75 A little, bow-legged, gappy-toothed ex-shearer from the other side of the rabbit-proof fence.
1996 D. Pilkington Rabbit-proof Fence iv. 31 When they reached the rabbit-proof fence they followed it to Savory Creek.
2000 Wildlife News Jan. 10/2 Later that year we put up a small rabbit proof fence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1832