An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Geology: A line of cliffs produced by faulting, erosion, or landslides. → cliff.

Etymology (EN): From It. scarpa.

Etymology (PE): Tondé “a steep slope of a mountain,” from tond “swift, rapid, brisk; fierce, severe” (Mid.Pers. tund “sharp, violent;” Sogdian tund “violent;” cf. Skt. tod- “to thrust, give a push,” tudáti “he thrusts;” L. tundere “to thrust, to hit” (Fr. percer, E. pierce, ultimately from L. pertusus, from p.p. of pertundere “to thrust or bore through;”
PIE base *(s)teud- “to thrust, to beat”); cf. dialectal Anzali tin, Laki den, Tâleši teš “steep rock.”