inselberg

I1N1S1E1L1B3E1R1G2
UK/ˈɪnsəlˌbɜːɡ/UK/-zəl-/US/ˈɪnsəlˌbɝɡ/

noun

A monadnock (isolated mountain).

Scrabble 12

Meanings

nouninselberg (plural inselbergs or inselberge)

plural inselbergs · plural inselberge

  1. geographyA monadnock (isolated mountain).

    Ground penetrating radar can map the foundation of Gulem menhir and establish its identity either as a natural geological oddity, a natural inselberg or a manmade menhir.

    2016 December 4, “Archaeological Mystery of Gulem Menhir”, in The Navhind Times
    2 more examples

    Click: forest elephant, stern and alert. Click: humpback whale, breaching skyward like a frisky trout. Click: Gaboon viper, its big coppery head so close to the lens you could almost feel the flick of its tongue. Click: granite inselberg, like a great igneous gumdrop, protruding above forest canopy. Click: bulge-eyed hippopotamus, almost unrecognizably strange and serene, riding a wave along the Atlantic coast.

    2003, David Quammen, “Saving Africa's Eden”, in National Geographic, volume 204, number 3

    From the north, the road into Nigeria’s purpose-built capital is strewn with inselbergs, vast monolithic stone outcrops that rise abruptly out of the lush savannah. At the centre of the country, the city became the seat of government in 1991 after Lagos had become too crowded and chaotic.

    2015 July 24, William Wallis, “What is next for Nigeria?”, in Financial Times

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. GermanInselberg
  2. Englishinselberg

From German Inselberg, from Insel (“island”) + Berg (“mountain”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque muino lekuko
  • muino lekukoTranslations
Chinese Mandarin 孤山
  • 孤山 (gūshān)Translations
German Inselberg
  • InselbergTranslations
Korean 잔구
  • 잔구 (jan'gu)Translations
Polish twardzielec
  • twardzielecTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

inselberg. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inselberg

MLA

“inselberg.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inselberg. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inselberg,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inselberg.

Source: inselberg on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.