dacha

Definition

A Russian villa or summer house in the countryside.

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian да́ча (dáča), originally "gift, portion, land (granted by a prince)", from дать (datʹ, “to give”).

Example Sentences

• "The belt is full of dachi, i.e., summer villas, all now closed. […] Most of the dachi are small; but some large, sumptuous, and more securely fenced, a few with iron palisades to insure privacy. […] There are no roads in the environs of Odessa, except among the dachi by the shore."
• "This was a great rambling wooden house, fashioned, like most of the Muscovish dachi, or country houses, in the form of a square main building in the centre, flanked by a wing on each side which came forward in a semicircle, like a man’s outstretched arms, as though to embrace the approaching visitors."
• "Here the dachi are large and sumptuously furnished."