izba

or is·ba

[ iz-bah ]

/ ɪzˈbɑ /

noun

the traditional log house of rural Russia, with an unheated entrance room and a single living and sleeping room heated by a clay or brick stove.

Nearby words

izalco, izanagi, izanami, izar, izard, izba, izetbegovic, izetbegović, izhevsk, izmir, izmit

Origin of izba

1775–85; < Russian izbá (diminutive istópka), Old Russian istŭba house, bath, cognate with Serbo-Croatian ìzba small room, shack, Czech jizba room, Old Czech jistba, jizdba, all < Slavic *jĭstŭba ≪ Vulgar Latin *extūfa, with short u perhaps < Germanic *stuba; see stove¹

Examples from the Web for izba

The Evil one strove and strove, but nothing came of it, the izba still remained pitch dark.
Russian Fairy Tales|W. R. S. Ralston
Round her came swarming countless devils, the izba was full of them!
Russian Fairy Tales|W. R. S. Ralston
He unharnessed his horse and put everything in its place, and then went into the izba (room), but found no one there.
The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories|Leo Tolstoi
He thought, "It is useless to waste money and labour on an izba, when the roving Tatars will carry it off in any case."
Taras Bulba and Other Tales|Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

They watered it regularly, and the pea set to work and grew higher than the izba.
Russian Fairy Tales|W. R. S. Ralston