donga
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Remove ads
Etymology 1
From Afrikaans donga, from Zulu udonga.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɔŋɡə/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɒŋɡə/
Noun
donga (plural dongas)
- (South Africa) A usually dry, eroded watercourse running only in times of heavy rain.
- 1900, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Halt at Bloemfontein”, in The Great Boer War, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 349:
- Major Pack-Beresford and other officers were shot down, and every unhorsed man remained necessarily as a prisoner under the very muzzles of the riflemen in the donga.
- 1901, Ernest William Hornung, “The Knees of the Gods”, in Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman, Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 284:
- There were trenches for us men, but no place of safety for our horses nearer than this long and narrow donga which ran from within our lines towards those of the Boers.
- 1948, Henry Vollam Morton, In Search of South Africa, Methuen, page 168:
- Thousands of miserable cattle and goats roamed everywhere making tracks that would someday form cracks which successive rains would open into gullies and dongas.
- 1999, JM Coetzee, Disgrace, Vintage, published 2000, page 98:
- Count yourself lucky not to be a prisoner in the car at this moment, speeding away, or at the bottom of a donga with a bullet in your head.
Translations
References
- Jean Bradford, A Dictionary of South African English, Oxford (1978).
Etymology 2
Unknown; probably connected in some way with Etymology 1.[1]
Pronunciation
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /dɔŋə/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
donga (plural dongas)
- (Australia) A transportable building providing accommodation for one person, often used on remote work sites or as tourist accommodation.
- 2004, Susie Ashworth, Rebecca Turner, Simone Egger, Western Australia, Lonely Planet, page 152:
- Menzies Hotel ([Ph] 9024 2043; 22 Shenton St; s/d $48/65, donga $75) has old-style hotel rooms as well as - for that real goldfields experience - dongas (temporary miner′s abode, usually made from corrugated iron), and also serves all meals.
- 2004, James Woodford, The Dog Fence, page 225:
- He not only expects his fence to be perfect, he also expects his dongas to be the best workman′s huts in Australia, and that is what they are.
- 2009, David Marr, The Ibdian Ocean Solution, Robyn Davidson (editor), The Best Australian Essays 2009, page 118,
- Workers building roads in the bush sleep in dongas like these and are well paid for their discomfort.
Usage notes
- Usually used in outback Australia, especially the northwest.
Etymology 3
Noun
donga (plural dongas)
- Alternative spelling of donger (“penis”)
References
- Emilia Terzon (2016) “Origin of the word donga 'a bit of a mystery' to Australian linguists”, in ABC News (Australia)
Anagrams
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads