Meanings
karst1
plural karsts
- geographyA type of land formation, usually with many caves formed through the dissolving of limestone by underground drainage.
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.
1978, M. M. Sweeting, “The Karst of Kweilin, Southern China”, in The Geographical Journal, volume 144, number 2, page 2001 more example
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.
2009 May 29, “Katherine Harmon”, in Top 10 New Species Discovered in 2008^([ScientificAmerican.com])
Karst2
alternative Kras · alternative Carso
- A mountainous karst plateau in northeastern Italy and southwestern Slovenia; in full, Karst Plateau.
Origin
karst · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*ker-“hard; rock”
- Italo-Dalmatian
- Proto-Slavic*korsъ
- GermanKarst
- Englishkarst
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”). More at Karst. The metathesis in the Slovene term precludes German borrowing from Slovene.
More words from German, Proto-Slavic, Italo-Dalmatian
Full word history & related roots →Karst · proper noun
- GermanKarst
- GermanKarst
- EnglishKarst
Borrowed from German Karst.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian карст
- карст (karst)type of land formation
Catalan carst
- carsttype of land formation
Chinese Cantonese 巖溶 /岩溶
- 巖溶 /岩溶 (ngaam⁴ jung⁴)type of land formation
Chinese Mandarin 岩溶, 喀斯特
- 岩溶 (yánróng)type of land formation
- 喀斯特 (kāsītè)type of land formation
- 喀斯特 (Kāsītè)mountainous region in Italy and Slovenia
Czech kras
- krastype of land formation
Dutch karst
- karsttype of land formation
Esperanto karsto
- karstotype of land formation
Estonian karst
- karsttype of land formation
Finnish karsti, Karst
- karstitype of land formation
- Karstmountainous region in Italy and Slovenia
French karst
- karsttype of land formation
German Karst, Karst
- Karsttype of land formation
- Karstmountainous region in Italy and Slovenia
Hungarian karszt
- karszttype of land formation
Icelandic karst
- karsttype of land formation
Irish carst, boireann
- carsttype of land formation
- boireanntype of land formation
Italian carso
- carsotype of land formation
Japanese カルスト
- カルスト (karusuto)type of land formation
Norwegian karstlandskap
- karstlandskaptype of land formation
Polish kras
- krastype of land formation
Portuguese carso, carste
- carsotype of land formation
- carstetype of land formation
Russian карст, Крас
- карст (karst)type of land formation
- Крас (Kras)mountainous region in Italy and Slovenia
Spanish karst, malpaís
- karsttype of land formation
- malpaístype of land formation
Tagalog karst
- karsttype of land formation
Vietnamese các-xtơ, các-tơ
- các-xtơtype of land formation
- các-tơtype of land formation
Welsh carst
- carsttype of land formation
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
karst. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/karst
“karst.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/karst. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “karst,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/karst.
Source: karst on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.