dacha

Where does the word "dacha" come from? It comes from Old Russian dacha, passing through Russian before entering English (1890s).

Dacha’s story begins in Old Russian: dacha meant “grant.” 'a giving, grant', from dati 'to give'; it meant land granted by a Muscovite prince in return for service. By 1700s, the word had taken hold in Russian as dacha. Peter the Great granted plots along the road from St Petersburg to Peterhof to his courtiers, and the word shifted to the country houses built on them. It reached English by 1890s as dacha. Used for Russian summer houses; Stalin's 'Near Dacha' at Kuntsevo, where he died in 1953, made it familiar in reporting on the Kremlin. Today, dacha means a country house or cottage in Russia, typically a second home.

1. Stage 1 · Old Russian · medieval dacha "grant", 'a giving, grant', from dati 'to give'; it meant land granted by a Muscovite prince in return for service.
2. Stage 2 · Russian · 1700s dacha "country house", Peter the Great granted plots along the road from St Petersburg to Peterhof to his courtiers, and the word shifted to the country houses built on them.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1890s dacha "Russian country cottage", used for Russian summer houses; Stalin's 'Near Dacha' at Kuntsevo, where he died in 1953, made it familiar in reporting on the Kremlin.