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]

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      (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.

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  • 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

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

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