Post
by Richard Frost » Sat Oct 23 2021 9:06am
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021
verst
[ vurst, verst ]
noun
a Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3,500 feet, or 0.6629 mile (1.067 kilometers).
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF VERST?
Verst “a Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3,500 feet” is borrowed by way of either French or German from Russian verstá, from Old Russian vĭrsta “age; measure of length.” Though these two definitions are rather different, their connection is measurement, whether of time or distance. Vĭrsta derives from the Proto-Indo-European root wert- “to turn,” which is also the source of a profusion of words related to turning, twisting, and bending. The English suffix -ward (as in forward, inward, outward, and toward) is one such derivative, as are warp, worm, wrangle, wrap, wreath, wrench, wrestle, wring, wrinkle, wrist, and writhe. This root is also found in words that figuratively indicate turning in a negative direction, such as awry, weird, worry, wrath, and wrong. By way of Latin, English has inherited terms such as diversion, introvert, versatile, versus, vertebra, and vertex (from vertere “to turn”); reverberate (from verber “whip”); and converge and diverge (from vergere “to be inclined”). Several Ancient Greek-origin terms, such as rhapsody (from rháptein “to stitch”) and rhombus (from rhémbein “to revolve”), also derive from the same root. Verst was first recorded in English in the mid-1500s.
HOW IS VERST USED?
After passing the fifteenth verst-stone, Chichikov suddenly recollected that, according to Manilov, fifteen versts was the exact distance between his country house and the town; but the sixteenth verst stone flew by, and the said country house was still nowhere to be seen. In fact, but for the circumstance that the travellers happened to encounter a couple of peasants, they would have come on their errand in vain. NIKOLAI VASILIEVICH GOGOL (1809–1852), DEAD SOULS, TRANSLATED BY D. J. HOGARTH, 1915
Now that McDonald’s hamburgers and Pepsi-Cola are a hit with Moscow residents, American-style suburban town houses are on their way there too. Construction of the first 132 of 528 units planned for Krasnagorsk, a suburb about 23 versts—15 miles—northwest of Red Square, will begin in August. RICHARD D. LYONS, "POSTINGS: 528 TOWN HOUSE UNITS; 23 VERSTS TO RED SQ.," NEW YORK TIMES, MAY 6, 1990