taiga

name

1. Alternative spelling of Tayga.

noun

Etymology: From Russian тайга́ (tajgá), from South Siberian Turkic (Altai region, for example the Altay or Shor language, cf Khakas: тағ (tağ)), or alternatively Yakut тайга (tayga, “untraversable forest”). Doublet of Tayga.

1. A subarctic zone of evergreen coniferous forests situated south of the tundras and north of the steppes in the Northern Hemisphere.

   “The mountains run from the Arctic Island of Novaya Zemlya southwards, dividing the endless wastes of the Siberian taiga and the steppes from the Russian platform in the west.”

   “Like the taiga, he was everywhere, and mysterious—a heroic being with unearthly gifts.”