vast

See also: VAST, väst, and -vast

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: väst, IPA^(key): /vɑːst/
• (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /vast/
• (US) IPA^(key): /væst/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æst, -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, 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.

   • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:

     Another place where, from the aesthetic point of view, a long tunnel would have been a real blessing, is East London as viewed from the carriage window on the old Great Eastern line. Despite a vast change from crowded slums to tracts of wasteland, due to its grim wartime experience, this approach still provides a shabby and unworthy introduction to the great capital.

   • 2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist‎, 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 (date written), 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, [Act I, scene iv]:

     the empty, vast, and wandering air

Translations

very large or wide (literally or figuratively)

Arabic: شَاسِع (šāsiʕ), وَاسِع (wāsiʕ) 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 Mari: Eastern Mari: кумда (kumda) 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 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [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
• vast majority
• vastness

 

Anagrams

• ATVs, tavs, VTAs, vats, VSAT

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin vāstus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbast]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈvast]

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, 2024
• “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.

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?

Declension

Declension 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
• vastklampen
• vastleggen
• vastlopen
• vastmaken
• vaststellen
• vastzitten

 

Related terms

• vestigen

 

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

   vast en zeker ― most certainly

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. inflection of vasten:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta, from Proto-Finno-Permic *wasta (“a place opposite or across”). Cognate to Finnish vasta, Votic vassõ, Northern Sami vuostá, Erzya вастомс (vastoms, “to meet; to receive”), Moksha васта (vasta, “place; distance”) and possibly Western Mari ваштареш (vaštareš, “against; across”).^[1]

Adverb

vast (not comparable)

1. maybe, possibly

   Synonyms: ehk, vahest, võib-olla

2. recently, just, now

   Synonyms: äsja, just, nüüdsama, alles

Derived terms

• vastama
• vastas
• vastik
• vastne
• vastu

 

References

1. “vast”, in [ETY] Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2012

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta. Cognates include Finnish vasta and Estonian vast.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑstɑ/, [ˈʋɑs̠t]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑst/, [ˈʋɑʃt]
• Rhymes: -ɑst
• Hyphenation: vast
• Homophone: vasta

Adverb

vast

1. just now

Synonyms

• ikkee, vastikkää

Preposition

vast (+ partitive)

1. against, towards

Derived terms

• vastikkää

 

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 645

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta, from Proto-Finno-Permic *wasta (“a place opposite or across”). Cognate with Finnish vasta-, vastaan, vasten.

Preposition

vast

1. against

Ludian

Etymology

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

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)

Old Norse

Verb

vast

1. second-person singular past active indicative of vera

Romani

Etymology

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀳𑀢𑁆𑀣 (hattha), from Sanskrit हस्त (hásta).^[1]

Cognates

Assamese হাত (hat), Bengali হাত (hat), Dhivehi އަތް (at̊), Gujarati હાથ (hāth), Hindustani ہاتھ (hāth) / हाथ (hāth), Kachchi હથ (hath), Kashmiri اَتھٕ (athụ), Konkani हात (hāt), Marathi हात (hāt), Marwari हाथ (hāth), Malvi हात (hāt), Nimadi हाथ (hāth), Odia ହାତ (hāta), Punjabi ہَتھّ / ਹੱਥ (hattha), Sindhi هَٿُ (hatu), and Sinhalese අත (ata)

Noun

vast m (nominative plural vasta)

1. (anatomy) hand

   Kamav te ćumidav laqo vast.

   I want to kiss her hand.

Derived terms

• del vast

References

1. Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “hasta”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 811

Further reading

• Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “vast”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten (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 (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 373

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vaste, from Latin vastus.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

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

1. vast

Declension

		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

Declension of vast

Related terms

• vastitate

Veps

Etymology

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

Noun

vast

1. broom, whisk
2. bath broom

Declension

Inflection of vast (inflection type 5/sana)
nominative sing.	vast
genitive sing.	vastan
partitive sing.	vastad
partitive plur.	vastoid
	singular	plural
nominative	vast	vastad
accusative	vastan	vastad
genitive	vastan	vastoiden
partitive	vastad	vastoid
essive-instructive	vastan	vastoin
translative	vastaks	vastoikš
inessive	vastas	vastoiš
elative	vastaspäi	vastoišpäi
illative	vastaha vastha	vastoihe
adessive	vastal	vastoil
ablative	vastalpäi	vastoilpäi
allative	vastale	vastoile
abessive	vastata	vastoita
comitative	vastanke	vastoidenke
prolative	vastadme	vastoidme
approximative I	vastanno	vastoidenno
approximative II	vastannoks	vastoidennoks
egressive	vastannopäi	vastoidennopäi
terminative I	vastahasai vasthasai	vastoihesai
terminative II	vastalesai	vastoilesai
terminative III	vastassai	—
additive I	vastahapäi vasthapäi	vastoihepäi
additive II	vastalepäi	vastoilepäi