donga, noun
- Origin:
- IsiXhosa, IsiZuluShow more IsiXhosa and isiZulu udonga.
An eroded gully or watercourse formed by the action of running water, but usually dry and with steep, bare sides. Cf. sloot sense 2. Also attributive.
1879 R.J. Atcherley Trip to Boërland 134The dongas which debouched into the creek became so deeply cut in the earth that, in order to avoid the repeated difficulties we encountered in crossing them, we had to shape our course higher up on the brow of the hill.
1993 Weekend Post 31 July (Leisure) 1Through dongas, up mountain passes, across grasslands, through mud, tornadoes and any other natural disaster, his vehicle has gone places.
An eroded gully or watercourse formed by the action of running water, but usually dry and with steep, bare sides.
- Derivatives:
- Hence donga-ed adjective nonce, scarred by dongas.1990 T. Hull in Personality 18 June 30The rest of the time you’re scrabbling in low ratio four-wheel-drive up and down rocky donga-ed slopes that bounce you around like puppets.
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