vast

See also: VAST and väst

English

Etymology

From Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus (“void, immense”). Related to waste and German Wüste.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: väst, IPA^(key): /vɑːst/
• (US) IPA^(key): /væst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːst

Adjective

vast (comparative vaster or more vast, superlative vastest or most vast)

1. Very large or wide (literally or figuratively).

   The Sahara desert is vast.

   There is a vast difference between them.

2. Very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially extent.
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter III.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], OCLC 48702491; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, OCLC 78413388, page 136:

     The exiguity and ſmallneſſe of ſome ſeeds extending to large productions is one of the magnalities of nature, ſomewhat illuſtrating the work of the Creation, and vaſt production from nothing.

   • 2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 172:

     Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.

3. (obsolete) Waste; desert; desolate; lonely.
   • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:

     the empty, vast, and wandering air

Translations

very large or wide (literally or figuratively)

• Arabic: شَاسِع‎ (šāsiʿ), وَاسِع‎ (ar) (wāsiʿ)
• Belarusian: шыро́кі (be) (šyróki), веліза́рны (vjelizárny), вялі́зны (vjalízny), велічэ́зны (vjeličézny)
• Bulgarian: обши́рен (bg) (obšíren), огро́мен (bg) (ogrómen)
• Catalan: vast (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 浩大 (zh) (hàodà)

• Czech: rozlehlý (cs)
• Danish: enorm
• Dutch: enorm (nl)
• Esperanto: vasta (eo)
• Estonian: tohutu, ääretu, suur (et)
• Finnish: valtava (fi), laaja (fi)
• French: vaste (fr), immense (fr)
• Galician: vasto
• Georgian: ვრცელი (vrceli), ვეებერთელა (veebertela), უზარმაზარი (uzarmazari), თვალუწვდენელი (tvaluc̣vdeneli), უსაზღვრო (usazɣvro)
• German: beträchtlich (de), weit (de), ausgedehnt (de), enorm (de), riesig (de)
• Greek: απέραντος (el) (apérantos)

• Hungarian: óriási (hu), hatalmas (hu)
• Irish: uafásach
• Italian: ampio (it), vasto (it), esteso (it), grande (it), immenso (it)
• Japanese: 広大な (ja) (こうだいな, kōdai na), 莫大な (ja) (ばくだいな, bakudai na)
• Korean: 광대하다 (ko) (gwangdaehada), 거대하다 (ko) (geodaehada), 광막하다 (gwangmakhada)
• Latin: effūsus
• Maori: whakatikotiko
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: enorm

• Polish: obszerny (pl), rozległy (pl), zdecydowany (pl) (in some collocations)
• Portuguese: vasto (pt)
• Russian: обши́рный (ru) (obšírnyj), огро́мный (ru) (ogrómnyj)
• Slovak: rozľahlý, rozsiahly, drvivý (figuratively), enormný (sk)
• Spanish: vasto (es), enorme (es)
• Swedish: enorm (sv)
• Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ (rgya chen po)
• Turkish: dev (tr), engin (tr), muazzam (tr)
• Ukrainian: широ́кий (šyrókyj), величе́зний (velyčéznyj)

Noun

vast (plural vasts)

1. (poetic) A vast space.
   • c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The VVinters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     they have seemed to be together, though absent, shook hands, as over a vast, and embraced, as it were, from the ends of opposed winds.

Derived terms

• ultravast
• vastly
• vastness

 

Anagrams

• ATVs, VSAT, tavs, vats

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin vāstus.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈvast/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈbast/

Adjective

vast (feminine vasta, masculine plural vasts or vastos, feminine plural vastes)

1. vast, wide

Related terms

• vastitud

Further reading

• “vast” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “vast”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “vast” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “vast” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑst/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: vast
• Rhymes: -ɑst

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch vast, from Old Dutch fast, from Proto-West Germanic *fastī, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz.

Adjective

vast (comparative vaster, superlative meest vast or vastst)

1. firm, fast, tight
2. fixed, not moving or changing

   Kunnen we de vaste lasten dragen?

   Can we sustain the fixed costs?

3. stuck, unable to get out

   Haar hand zat vast in het gat.

   Her hand was stuck in the hole.

4. (chemistry) in the solid state

   Bij kamertemperatuur is het een vaste stof.

   It is a solid substance at room temperature.

5. (botany) perennial

   Hij heeft een aantal vaste planten gepoot.

   He has planted a few perennial plants.

6. (of a telephone) using a landline

   Is er een vaste verbinding?

   Is there a landline connection?

Inflection

Inflection of vast
uninflected	vast
inflected	vaste
comparative	vaster
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		vast	vaster	het vastst het vastste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	vaste	vastere	vastste
	n. sing.	vast	vaster	vastste
	plural	vaste	vastere	vastste
definite		vaste	vastere	vastste
partitive		vasts	vasters	—

Derived terms

• rotsvast
• vastbinden
• vastgoed
• vasthouden
• vastleggen
• vastlopen
• vastmaken
• vaststellen
• vastzitten

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: vas
• Berbice Creole Dutch: vasi
• Negerhollands: vast, vas
• →? Sranan Tongo: fasi, fasti
  • → Caribbean Javanese: pasi, fasi

Adverb

vast

1. (obsolete) almost; about; close to
2. surely, certainly

   Synonym: zeker

3. (informal, sarcastically) sure, yeah, right

   Mijn hond at mijn huiswerk. — Ja, vast!

   My dog ate my homework. — Yeah, right!

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vast

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of vasten
2. imperative of vasten

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Estonian

Etymology

Of Finno-Mordvinic or Finno-Volgaic origin. Cognate to Finnish vasta, Votic vassa, Northern Sami vuostá, Erzya вастомс (vastoms, “to meet; to receive”), Moksha васта (vasta, “place; distance”) and possibly Western Mari ваштареш (βaštareš, “against; across”).

Adverb

vast

1. maybe, possibly
2. recently, just, now

Derived terms

• vastama
• vastas
• vastik
• vastne
• vastu

 

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Livonian

Etymology

Akin to Finnish vasten

Preposition

vast

1. against

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Ludian

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Old East Slavic хвостъ (xvostŭ); see vasta.

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)

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Old Norse

Verb

vast

1. second-person singular past active indicative of vera

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Romani

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit हस्त (hasta). Compare Punjabi ਹੱਥ (hatth), Hindi हाथ (hāth), Bengali হাত (hat); compare also Persian دست‎ (dast).

Noun

vast m (nominative plural vasta)

1. (anatomy) hand

Derived terms

• del vast

References

• Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “vast”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 297
• Marcel Courthiade (2009), “o vast, -es- m. -a, -en-”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (in Hungarian; English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 373

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Romanian

Etymology

From French vaste, from Latin vastus.

Adjective

vast m or n (feminine singular vastă, masculine plural vaști, feminine and neuter plural vaste)

1. vast

Declension

Declension of vast

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	vast		vastă	vaști	vaste
	definite	vastul		vasta	vaștii	vastele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	vast		vaste	vaști	vaste
	definite	vastului		vastei	vaștilor	vastelor

Related terms

• vastitate

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Veps

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Old East Slavic хвостъ (xvostŭ); see vasta.

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)