Crossword clues for verst
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Verst \Verst\, n. [Russ. versta: cf. F. verste.] A Russian measure of length containing 3,500 English feet.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Russian unit of distance measure equal to about two-thirds of a mile, 1550s, from Russian versta, related to Old Church Slavonic vrusta "stadium," vruteti (Russian vertet) "to turn" (see versus).
Wiktionary
n. A Russian unit of length, equivalent to about 1.07 kilometres or about 2/3 of a mile.
WordNet
n. a Russian unit of length (1.067 km)
Wikipedia
A verst (, versta) is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to .
In the English language, verst is singular with the normal plural versts. In Russian, the nominative singular is versta, but the form usually used with numbers is genitive plural verst — 10 verst, 25 verst, etc. — whence the English form.
A mezhevaya versta (, lit. border verst) is twice as long as a verst.
"The verst of the 17th century was 700 sazhens or 1.49 km as against the 500 sazhens or 1.067 km it became at the time of Peter the Great". The Russian Wiki mentions several other old values.
In Finland, virsta was originally 1.069 km according to the Swedish standard, but the Russian verst (1.0668 km) replaced it after annexation to the Russian Empire in 1809. Virsta was originally 600 sylis (fathoms, 1.781 m), but then changed to 500 syli, since the Russian syli was longer, 2.134 m. A derived unit was peninkulma = 10 virsta (see Finnish units of measurement). Metrification replaced virsta with the kilometre in the 1880s.
Usage examples of "verst".
I went to work with a gang of kiln men to the tileries which were situated two versts from prison.
This was only about a verst from the house, or a little more than half a mile.
Christmas holidays I fell sick, and was sent to the military hospital, which was situated about half a verst from the fortress.
The road is divided into sections of a verst each, a verst being about two-thirds of a mile.
A Russian verst about night-fall, and under such conditions as I have endeavoured to point out to the reader, is an unknown quantity.
Andreevich did as he had said, and having gone about half a verst came to a tall oak stake which had a few dry leaves still dangling on it, and there he turned to the left.
As the time drew near he stationed guards at the distance of a verst around the castle, that no clattering vehicles should pass, no dogs bark loudly, nor any other disturbance occur which might agitate the Princess.
Dressing myself quickly, I would tuck a towel and a French novel under my arm, and go off to bathe in the river in the shade of a birch tree which stood half a verst from the house.
The distance to the Casino was about half a verst, and our route led us through the Chestnut Avenue until we reached the square directly fronting the building.
The pilotcomp landed the half-wing behind the consulate -- it had its own drop beacon -- and I presented my ID and request to the consular agent, a wrinkled man named Clave Verst who, like Sutherlan, seemed to be marking time until retirement.
I call back to the consulate, report the situation, and then continue on with my errand while Verst handled it.
Yet we were still ten versts from the next village, and in the meanwhile the large purple cloudbank--arisen from no one knows where--was advancing steadily towards us.
As the versts went by, Greg seemed ever more eager to return to the family home, but soon Natalya began to look doubtful, as if she were uncertain of her welcome when she arrived.
It ought to speed things up if we could knock off a thousand versts or so by rail.
Mikhailoff, however, has his suspicions as to the true character of the section: from the gravity of the crime for which he is forced to march three or four thousand versts on foot.