verst

American  

[vurst, verst] / vɜrst, vɛrst /

Or verste,

noun

1. a Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3,500 feet, or 0.6629 mile (1.067 kilometers).

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verst British  

/ vɛəst, vɜːst /

noun

1. a unit of length, used in Russia, equal to 1.067 kilometres (0.6629 miles)

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Etymology

Origin of verst

First recorded in 1545–55; from French verste or German Werst, from Russian verstá; Old Russian vĭrsta “age, agemate, pair, measure of length,” cognate with Czech vrstva “layer, stratum, bed,” Polish warstwa “layer, coating, sheet,” Serbo-Croatian vŕsta “sort, kind, species,” Old Church Slavonic vrĭsta “age, time of life,” from unrecorded Slavic vĭrsta “turn, bend,” from the Proto-Indo-European extended root wert- “to turn, wind,” source of Latin vertere “to turn,” and English suffix -ward ( def. ); see convert ¹, verse

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

verst

Drapes of eggshell rayon silk, fully a verst of it, hung from the ceiling to the floor.

From Time Magazine Archive

Neither side had a decided victory in any part of the field, and the ground lost or won never exceeded a verst or two in extent and was often less than a hundred yards.

From In the Russian Ranks A Soldier's Account of the Fighting in Poland by Morse, John

The fourteenth verst takes us across the river--follow the telephone wires there.

From The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Campaigning in North Russia 1918-1919 by Jahns, Lewis E.

He marched about a verst, but his strength gave out,—his feet hurt him so.

From Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Popular Education, Decembrists, Moral Tales by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

He fainted twice; and sometimes we were compelled to carry him a verst or two; but as soon as he gained a little strength he insisted on marching like the rest of us.

From In the Russian Ranks A Soldier's Account of the Fighting in Poland by Morse, John