troika

Definition

A Russian carriage drawn by a team of three horses abreast.

Etymology

From Russian тро́йка (trójka, “a group of three”).

Example Sentences

• "A great writer of the last epoch, comparing Russia to a swift troika galloping to an unknown goal, exclaims 'Oh, troika, birdlike troika, who invented thee!' and adds, in proud ecstasy, that all the peoples of the world stand aside respectfully to make way for the recklessly galloping troika to pass."
• "When Gogol wrote his great passage on the troika speeding across the steppes, he likened it to Russia itself, advancing across the earth."
• "Travelling part of the way by rail and the remainder by troika, he reached Orenburg shortly before Christmas."