sastruga

[sas-truh-guh, sah-struh-, sa-stroo-, sah-]

noun

plural

sastrugi 

1. Usually sastrugi. ridges of snow formed on a snowfield by the action of the wind.

sastruga

/ səˈstruːɡə, sæ- /

noun

1. one of a series of ridges on snow-covered plains, caused by the action of wind laden with ice particles

Word History and Origins

Origin of sastruga¹

1830–40; < German < dialectal Russian zastrúga, noun derivative of zastrugátʾ, zastrogátʾ to plane, shave down (wood), equivalent to za- perfective v. prefix + strugátʾ, strogátʾ to plane, smooth (wood)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sastruga¹

from Russian zastruga groove, from za by + struga deep place

Example Sentences

In the worst fogs at home one can at any rate see something of the ground on which one is treading; in Adelie Land, even when the air was clear of snow, it was easy to bump against a four-foot sastruga without seeing it.

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Each of us took it in turn to run ahead, jumping from one sastruga to another.

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As the sledge strikes each sastruga, it skids northwards along it to the discomfort of the wheelers and the disgust of the leader.

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The sledge, for instance, balances itself on the top of a sastruga for a moment, with an ominous bend in the runners, crashes down the slope and jams its bow into the next one, from which it has to be lifted clear.

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One walks into a deep trench or a sastruga two feet high without noticing it.

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