dacha
nounUK /ˈdæt͡ʃ.ə/ · US /ˈdɑ.t͡ʃə/
Etymology Borrowed from Russian да́ча (dáča), originally "gift, portion, land (granted by a prince)", from дать (datʹ, “to give”).
1
A Russian villa or summer house in the countryside.
- 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.1899, Cyprian Cope [pseudonym; James Biddle Baron Cope di Valromita], Arabesques: A Perspective, London: Leonard Smithers and Co, […], pages 214–216:
- 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.1904, Fred Whishaw, The Tiger of Muscovy, London; New York, N.Y.; Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., […], page 295:
4 more examples
- Here the dachi are large and sumptuously furnished.1953 February 26, “Myth of Classless Society Exposed: Soviet Party Bosses Really Rank Conscious”, in The Vancouver Province, 55th year, number 281, Vancouver, B.C., page 3:
- On the defensive side, Stalin had made equally thorough preparations. Lenin’s personal guard consisted of two men, later increased to four after the attempt on his life by Fanny Kaplan. Stalin’s was several thousand strong, and the NKVD in addition kept other units at a state of readiness. The road to his country dacha, some twenty miles away, was guarded by over 3,000 agents, with cars, telephone connections, etc. When Stalin was actually en route, the road was virtually under martial law.1968, Robert Conquest, The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties, Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 546–547:
- The Ambassador warned him of the consequences if his mission to Moscow were a failure, both to Churchill's position at home and to Russia's prospects in the war. He insisted that he should not allow himself to be offended 'by a peasant who didn't know any better'. Churchill listened in silence, then returned to the dacha leaving Clark Kerr outside.1986, Martin Kitchen, British Policy Towards the Soviet Union during the Second World War, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 137:
- The impact of the city was evidenced by the growing number of summer dachi and rising land values, […]1990, Joachim Tauber, Römische Republik und russische Autokratie in der Krise, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 379:
- Related terms
- dacha-saltee