donga
Americannoun
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(in an ice shelf ) a small ravine with steep sides.
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(in South Africa) an eroded ravine; a dry watercourse.
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of donga
1875–80; < Nguni (compare Zulu u(lu)donga ); perhaps directly < a pidginized form with loss of the class prefix, as Fanagalo donga
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was perched unpretentiously on the edge of a donga, one of many similar shacks on Eighth Avenue.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
One night our dingy shack, which had been leaning precipitously on the edge of a donga, collapsed.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
He hurled them across the donga, and they landed in the middle of the street, a few paces from the approaching policeman and his naked captive.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
I sent Jim for the rifle, and led the old front ox to the edge of the donga where a bleached tree lay across it...
From Jock of the Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick
Never a bush or ant-heap, never a donga or a patch of reeds, did I pass for many days after that without the conviction that something was lurking there.
From Jock of the Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
