Main Entry: tun·dra

Pronunciation: \ˈtən-drə also ˈtu̇n-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Russian, from Russian dial. (northeast) tundra, tundara, from Kildin Sami (Sami language of the northern Kola Peninsula) tūnter

Date: circa 1841

: a level or rolling treeless plain that is characteristic of arctic and subarctic regions, consists of black mucky soil with a permanently frozen subsoil, and has a dominant vegetation of mosses, lichens, herbs, and dwarf shrubs; also : a similar region confined to mountainous areas above timberline