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

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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

Quick he ran a verst, a second, For a short space well proceeded, When he suddenly stopped standing, Would not stir from his position.

From Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes, Volume Two by Elias Lönnrot

The officials of those days probably reflected that, if three kopeks must be paid for a verst, the latter had better be a long one.

From From Paris to New York by Land by Harry De Windt

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 John Morse

We wind into the old river town and pass on for a verst and a half to an old monastery where we find quarters in a subsidiary building which once was an orphan's home.

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

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