How do you pronounce karst?

The recorded pronunciation is /kɑɹst/.

Where does karst come from?

It is traced to Proto-Indo-European.

karst

/kɑɹst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English

Syllables: karst
IPA: /kɑɹst/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A type of land formation, usually with many caves formed through the dissolving of limestone by underground drainage.

name

A mountainous karst plateau in northeastern Italy and southwestern Slovenia; in full, Karst Plateau.

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."

Etymology

Etymology tree Italo-Dalmatianbor. German Karstbor. English 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”). More at Karst. The metathesis in the Slovene term precludes German borrowing from Slovene.

Origin

Source language: Proto-Indo-European

Word Breakdown

Root: -, *korsъ

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kɑɹst/
British English: /kɑːst/

Inflected Forms

karsts (plural) the Karst (canonical) Kras (alternative) Carso (alternative)

Derived Forms

endokarst epikarst exokarst glaciokarst holokarst hyperkarst hypokarst karstic karstification karstify karstology merokarst

Phrases

karst spring

Homonyms

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

Rhymes With

parsed garst darst arsed