troika

troika
/troy"keuh/, n.
1. a Russian carriage, wagon, or sleigh drawn by a team of three horses abreast.
2. a team of three horses driven abreast.
3. any group of three persons, nations, etc., acting equally in unison to exert influence, control, or the like.
[1835-45; < Russ tróika threesome, troika, deriv. of tróe three (collective), akin to tri THREE]

* * *

      (Russian: “three”), any vehicle drawn by three horses abreast, usually a sleigh with runners but also a wheeled carriage. The three-horse team is also known as a unicorn team.

      In Hungary and in Russia the troika, drawn by three horses and driven by an elegantly clad coachman, was once the ultimate status symbol. All three horses were lightly harnessed, with the leader, or middle one, between the shafts of the vehicle at a trot, while the two wheelers, or outside horses (pulling at slightly divergent angles in an array shaped like a fan), galloped—one furiously, the other coquettishly. Great care was taken in the harnessing of the animals to see that each performed at the desired gait. The nobility thus made great and colourful ceremonial displays.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • troïka — [ trɔika ] n. f. • 1856; mot russe 1 ♦ Grand traîneau attelé à trois chevaux de front. 2 ♦ Groupe de trois dirigeants politiques, de trois entreprises, etc. (d abord en parlant du groupe formé par Staline, Zinoviev et Kamenev en 1922, en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Troika — Troïka (homonymie) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Troika — Sf Dreigespann erw. fach. (19. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus russ. troika, zu russ. troe drei .    Ebenso nndl. troika, ne. troika, nfrz. troïka, nschw. trojka, nnorw. troika. russ …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • troika — Voz de origen ruso que se emplea, en el lenguaje político, con el sentido de ‘equipo dirigente o con labores de representación integrado por tres miembros’: «España formará parte, junto a Francia y Alemania, de la troika comunitaria» (Mundo… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • troika — 1842, carriage drawn by three horses abreast, from Rus. troika three horse team, any group of three, from collective numeral troe three + dim. suffix ka. Sense of any group of three administrators, triumvirate is first recorded 1945 …   Etymology dictionary

  • Troika — (Troetschka), das russische Dreigespann s.u. Telega; vgl. Kibitke …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Troika — (russ.), Dreigespann, im engern Sinne leichtes Luxusgespann, bei dem das mittlere, unter einem hohen Bügel (Joch) gehende Pferd scharf trabt, während die beiden Seitenpferde galoppieren; s. Kibitka (Abbildung s. Tafel »Russische Kultur I«, Fig.… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Troika — (russ. trojka), Dreigespann, Wagen mit drei Pferden nebeneinander …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Troika — Troika, russ. Wagen mit 3 Pferden …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • troika — / trɔika/ (meno com. troica) s.f. [dal russo trojka, propr. terzina ]. (giorn.) [organo direttivo, spec. politico o economico, costituito da tre membri] ▶◀ ‖ triarchia, triunvirato …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • troika — |tróica| s. f. Ver troica.   ‣ Etimologia: palavra russa …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”