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
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
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
All day long the wretched Nomfunda lay beneath the undermined bank of a donga.
From The White Hecatomb And other Stories by W. C. (William Charles) Scully
It appeared that after the party had proceeded some distance, it was reported to them that there was a lion in an adjoining donga, which would probably attack them if it was not destroyed.
From Perils in the Transvaal and Zululand by H.C. Adams
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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.
