massif
English · Français
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
massif
- /mæˈsiːf/
- /ˈmæsɪf/
Rhymes with -iːf
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French massif, from Middle French massif, ultimately from Latin massa, from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley-cake, lump (of dough)”).
noun massifs
- A principal mountain mass. This is itself a cheerless spot, particularly on a rainy day, when, overshadowed by the great massif of rock that towers in the background, and surrounded by the grey and cheerless quarries, it has a depressing character much in contrast with the green verdure encountered on the northern end of this
- A block of the earth's crust bounded by faults or flexures and displaced as a unit without internal change; normally consists of gneisses and schists. The southern borders of these states are keyed to the same horizontal projection, one surveyed by the frontier planter William Byrd in 1728, while the rivers forming their northern extents fall back just opposite each other from the flanks of the Appalachian massif.
Translations
Every language
noun principal mountain mass
| Español | macizo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 육괴 yukgoe |
| 日本語 | 山塊 sankai |
| 中文 | 山體 /山体 shāntǐ |
| हिन्दी | पुंजक puñjak, मैसिफ़ maisif |
| Português | maciço |
| Français | massif |
| Deutsch | Massiv |
| Italiano | massiccio |
| Ελληνικά | μασίφ masíf |
| Română | masiv |
| Русский | масси́в massív |
| Tiếng Việt | khối núi |
| العربية | نَجْد najd |
| עברית | מַסִּיף massif |
noun block of the earth's crust
| 中文 | 地塊 /地块 dìkuài |
|---|
Talk about this word "massif." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/massif. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. massif. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/massif "massif." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/massif.Cite this
@misc{massif_2026,
title = {massif},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/massif},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
