different between donga vs donna

English

Pronunciation

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /d?????/, /d????/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d????/

Etymology 1

From Afrikaans donga, from Zulu udonga.

Noun

donga (plural dongas)

1. (South Africa) A usually dry, eroded watercourse running only in times of heavy rain.

   Synonyms: arroyo, wadi, wash

   • 1900, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Great Boer War, Volume 2, 2008 Easyread Large Bold Edition, page 14:

     Major Pack-Beresford and other officers were shot down, and every unhorsed man remained necessarily as a prisoner under the very muzzles of the riflemen in the donga.

   • 1901, Ernest William Hornung, “The Knees of the Gods”, in Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman, Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 284:

     There were trenches for us men, but no place of safety for our horses nearer than this long and narrow donga which ran from within our lines towards those of the Boers.

   • 1948, Henry Vollam Morton, In Search of South Africa,^[1] Methuen, page 168:

     Thousands of miserable cattle and goats roamed everywhere making tracks that would someday form cracks which successive rains would open into gullies and dongas.

   • 1999, JM Coetzee, Disgrace, Vintage 2000, p. 98:

     Count yourself lucky not to be a prisoner in the car at this moment, speeding away, or at the bottom of a donga with a bullet in your head.

Translations

References

• Jean Bradford, A Dictionary of South African English, Oxford (1978).

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

donga (plural dongas)

1. (Australia) A transportable building with single rooms, often used on remote work sites or as tourist accommodation.
   • 2004, Susie Ashworth, Rebecca Turner, Simone Egger, Western Australia, Lonely Planet, page 152,

     Menzies Hotel ([Ph] 9024 2043; 22 Shenton St; s/d $48/65, donga $75) has old-style hotel rooms as well as - for that real goldfields experience - dongas (temporary miner?s abode, usually made from corrugated iron), and also serves all meals.

   • 2004, James Woodford, The Dog Fence, page 225,

     He not only expects his fence to be perfect, he also expects his dongas to be the best workman?s huts in Australia, and that is what they are.

   • 2009, David Marr, The Ibdian Ocean Solution, Robyn Davidson (editor), The Best Australian Essays 2009, page 118,

     Workers building roads in the bush sleep in dongas like these and are well paid for their discomfort.

Usage notes

• Usually used in outback Australia, especially the northwest.

Anagrams

• Dagon, Dogan, Gonda, dango, dogan, goand, gonad

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Zulu udonga.

Noun

donga (plural dongas)

1. donga

Descendants

• ? English: donga
• ? German: Donga

Garo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

donga (intransitive)

1. there is, there are

2. to have, belong, be at, reside, dwell
3. be married to

Japanese

Romanization

donga

1. R?maji transcription of ???

English

Etymology

From Italian donna. Doublet of dame and domina.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d?n.?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?d?.n?/

Noun

donna (plural donnas)

1. A lady, especially a noblewoman; the title given to a lady in Italy.
   • 1837, Thomas Tod Stoddart, Angling reminiscences (page 65)

     What are the songs of Italy, sung as they are by the donnas of the scenic board, but a replication of squalls and quavers, infinitely more annoying than the gibberish of crones […]

   • 2005, Burton D. Fisher, Mozart's Don Giovanni, page 22

     In Don Giovanni's three female characters, the diverse spectrum of womanhood is rendered complete: the great opera seria character of the avenging Donna Anna, the sentimental and spurned Donna Elvira, and the crafty but sympathetic peasant girl Zerlina.

   Synonyms: lady, madam, mistress, noblewoman

   Coordinate term: don

Translations

Anagrams

• Danno, Nando, nonad, nonda

Finnish

Noun

donna

1. (slang) woman

Declension

Anagrams

• nadon

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?.na/

Verb

donna

1. third-person singular past historic of donner

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d???n???/, /?d???n???/

Adjective

donna

1. nominative/vocative/dative/strong genitive plural of donn (“brown”)

Mutation

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin domna, shortened variant of Latin domina (“lady, mistress of an estate or household”), from dominus (“master”), from domus (“home”). Doublet of dama.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?n.na/
• Hyphenation: dòn?na

Noun

donna f (plural donne)

1. woman

   Antonyms: ragazza, uomo

2. (archaic) lady

   Synonyms: signora, dama

3. wife

   Synonym: moglie

4. (card games) queen

   Synonym: regina

5. actress

   Synonym: attrice

Related terms

Descendants

• ? English: donna
• ? Swedish: donna

See also

• bambina
• femmina
• ragazza
• signora

Anagrams

• danno, dannò

Japanese

Romanization

donna

1. R?maji transcription of ???

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

donna f (definite singular donnaa, indefinite plural donnaer, definite plural donnaene)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• “donna” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Noun

donna ? (oblique plural donnas, nominative singular donna, nominative plural donnas)

1. (Anglo-Norman) lady