klif

Klif is a term used in several European languages to denote a cliff or steep rock face. In Polish, for example, klif refers to a natural cliff along coastlines or riverbanks, formed by erosional processes on rock and often featured in geomorphological descriptions of landscapes. The word appears in other languages with similar meanings as well, and in those contexts it is commonly used in geology, geography, and cartography to describe vertical rock exposures or escarpments.

In addition to its geological sense, klif occurs in toponymy as a place name or as part of geographic names in regions where prominent cliffs shape the landscape. Such toponyms may refer to settlements, natural features, or districts named for nearby cliffs and are found in various countries where the landscape includes significant rock faces.

Spelling variants, such as kliff or/of orklif, appear in some Germanic and related languages. These variants reflect historical pronunciation and orthographic changes rather than distinct meanings. The core sense of the term remains the description of a steep, vertical rock formation.

Because klif can refer to multiple uses—geographic features, place names, or linguistic variants—context is essential for disambiguation. If a specific entity is intended, additional details or qualifiers help identify whether the reference is to a natural cliff, a location, or another use of the term.