English
karst
Karst comes from German Karst.
- Germanc. 1650–presentKarst
- Englishearliest quotation 1978karst
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Germanc. 1650–presentKarst
- Englishearliest quotation 1978karst
Earliest quotation: 1978, M. M. Sweeting, The Karst of Kweilin, Southern China: “In the time available to us on our geomorphological…”
The story
The German term and the Slovene placename Kras (the Karst Plateau) are from Proto-Slavic *korsъ, from Italo-Dalmatian carsus. The metathesis in the Slovene term precludes German borrowing from Slovene.
Every English word from German Karst
Today it means
noun A type of land formation, usually with many caves formed through the dissolving of limestone by underground drainage.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / German Karst / karst