karst

Borrowed from German Karst. The German term and the Slovene placename Kras (the Karst Plateau) are from Proto-Slavic *korsъ, from Italo-Dalmatian carsus (cf. Italian carso), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“hard; rock”).^[1] More at Karst.

The metathesis in the Slovene term precludes German borrowing from Slovene.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: käst, IPA^(key): /kɑːst/
• (General American) enPR: kärst, IPA^(key): /kɑɹst/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)st

  Homophones: cast, caste (non-rhotic, trap–bath split)

karst (plural karsts)

1. (geology) A type of land formation, usually with many caves formed through the dissolving of limestone by underground drainage.
   • 1978, M. M. Sweeting, “The Karst of Kweilin, Southern China”, in The Geographical Journal, volume 144, number 2, page 200:

     In the time available to us on our geomorphological tour we were not able to see the higher and younger karsts of Kweichow and Yunnan and Kunming.

   • 2009 May 29, “Katherine Harmon”, in Top 10 New Species Discovered in 2008‎^{[ScientificAmerican.com]}:

     The shells are just 0.04 inch (one millimeter) long and were found on a karst formation where conditions are damp, but the snails that inhabit them have yet to be observed.

• karst on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Stark, Trask, karts, skart, stark

Borrowed from German Karst.

• IPA^(key): /kɑrst/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: karst
• Rhymes: -ɑrst

karst m (plural karsten)

1. (geology) karst (terrain with caves formed by limestone dissolution by underground drainage)

• karstbron

• IPA^(key): /kaʁst/

• Audio:

  (file)

karst m (plural karsts)

1. (geology) karst

• “karst”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• IPA^(key): /kʰar̥st/
• Rhymes: -ar̥st

karst n (genitive singular karsts, no plural)

1. (geology) karst

• carsc, kars

Unknown; perhaps from a Proto-West Germanic *karsk, *karst related to keren (“to sweep”), from Proto-Germanic *karjaną.

karst m

1. mattock, hoe

• Middle High German: karst
  • Alemannic German: Charst
  • Central Franconian: Kaasch, Kaascht

    Hunsrik: Kaarscht

    Moselle Franconian: Koascht

  • German: Karst
  • Luxembourgish: Kaascht
  • Rhine Franconian: Kaarsch, Kaarscht

    Palatine German: Kaarsch, Kaarscht

  • East Franconian: Koascht, Koaschd

• carst

Borrowed from German der Karst, name of a limestone region in Slovenia.

karst m (plural karstes)

1. (geology) karst

   Synonym: malpaís

• “karst”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024