*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of donga

Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà Zulu ū́dongábor. Afrikaans dongabor. English donga Borrowed from Afrikaans donga, borrowed from Zulu ū́dongá, from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A usually dry, eroded watercourse running only in times of heavy rain.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà Zulu ū́dongábor. Afrikaans dongabor. English donga Borrowed from Afrikaans donga, borrowed from Zulu ū́dongá, from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "af:donga",
        "id": "watercourse",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà\nZulu ū́dongábor.\nAfrikaans dongabor.\nEnglish donga\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Bantu\", \"term\" : \"*mʊ̀dòngà\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"bnt-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Zulu\", \"term\" : \"ū́dongá\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"zu\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Afrikaans\", \"term\" : \"donga\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"af\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"donga\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"watercourse\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"donga\" id=\"English:_watercourse\">\nBorrowed from Afrikaans donga, borrowed from Zulu ū́dongá, from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà."
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "af:donga",
        "id": "watercourse",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà\nZulu ū́dongábor.\nAfrikaans dongabor.\nEnglish donga\nBorrowed from Afrikaans donga, borrowed from Zulu ū́dongá, from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dòngà."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*mʊ̀dòngà",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Bantu/mʊ̀dòngà"
    ],
    [
      "ū́dongá",
      "udonga#Zulu"
    ],
    [
      "donga",
      "donga#Afrikaans"
    ],
    [
      "donga",
      "donga#Afrikaans"
    ],
    [
      "ū́dongá",
      "udonga#Zulu"
    ],
    [
      "*mʊ̀dòngà",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Bantu/mʊ̀dòngà"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A usually dry, eroded watercourse running only in times of heavy rain."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "recordId": "d665d6848885a6c17b6a8b7d7f9ce49f8e2761b2e3b4546a62171f41defb70ac",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ef8f1566620acff3dab84dd962b8664347649899184b351470e65cc65fa81d5c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 384336
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A transportable building providing accommodation for one person, often used on remote work sites or as tourist accommodation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Unknown; probably connected in some way with Etymology 1.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unk",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Unknown"
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A transportable building providing accommodation for one person, often used on remote work sites or as tourist accommodation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "recordId": "28350207c61205167f98f20deb4259d9e15a58019b053031df5ac43f293be551",
      "rawRecordSha256": "03d68a114a738fb1f504ff39c0050ce6bb702b2c84e6fb7fb757730aa373cb43",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 384337
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for donga →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZG9uZ2E