vast

See also: VAST and väst

Contents

English

Etymology

From Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus (“void, immense”).

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: Printed for 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.
   • William Shakespeare, the Life and Death of Richard the Third Act I, scene IV:

     the empty, vast, and wandering air

Translations

very large or wide (literally or figuratively)

• Bulgarian: обширен (bg) m (obšíren), огромен (bg) m (ogrómen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 浩大 (zh) (hàodà)

• Czech: rozlehlý (cs) m
• 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)
• Greek: απέραντος (el) (apérantos)

• Hungarian: óriási (hu), hatalmas (hu)
• Irish: uafásach
• Italian: ampio (it) m, ampia (it) f, vasto (it), esteso (it) m
• Japanese: 広大 (ja) (kōdai), 莫大 (ja) (bakudai)
• Korean: 광막한 (gwangmakhan)
• Maori: whakatikotiko
• Norwegian: enorm, voldsom (no)
• Polish: obszerny (pl) m, rozległy (pl) m
• Portuguese: vasto (pt) m, vasta f
• Russian: обши́рный (ru) (obšírnyj)
• Spanish: vasto (es)
• Swedish: enorm (sv)
• Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ (rgya chen po)
• Turkish: muazzam (tr)

Noun

vast (plural vasts)

1. (poetic) A vast space
   • 1608: 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. — William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, I.i

Derived terms

• ultravast
• vastly
• vastness

 

Anagrams

• VSAT, tavs, vats

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑst
• IPA^(key): /vɑst/

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

vast (comparative vaster, superlative meest vast or vastst)

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

   vaste lasten

   fixed costs

3. stuck, unable to get out
4. (chemistry) in the solid state
5. (botany) perennial
6. (of a telephone) using a landline

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

 

Etymology 2

Adverb

vast

1. surely, certainly

   Synonym: zeker

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

   Mijn hond at mijn huiswerk. — Ja, vast!

   My dog ate my homework. — Yeah, right!

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

vast

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

---

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

 

References

---

Livonian

Etymology

Akin to Finnish vasten.

Preposition

vast

1. against

---

Ludian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta.

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)

---

Romani

Etymology

Perhaps (unlikely, as the 'st' in Sanskrit would definitely have shifted to 'tt' or 't') from Sanskrit हस्त (hásta), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *źʰástas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ĵʰástas, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰés-to- (“hand”) < *ǵʰes-. Compare Punjabi ਹੱਥ (hatth), Hindi हाथ (hāth), Bengali হাত (hat); compare also Persian دست‎ (dast).

Noun

vast m (plural vast)

1. hand

---

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta.

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)