Meaning

Inner bark of a tree from which rope is traditionally made..

Definitions by Sense

1. Inner bark of a tree from which rope is traditionally made.
2. Fibre made from the phloem of certain plants (particularly the lime tree) and used for making ropes, cords and matting.
3. (obsolete) Bastardy, illegitimacy of birth.
4. (obsolete) Illegitimate, born out of wedlock.

Example Sentences

I thought I saw Him in the Long Walk there, by the bed of Nelly Roche, tending a fallen flower with a wisp of bast.

[T]here would be seen his face, or that of his elder brother, peering down. A guttural sound, and the tip-tap of bast slippers beating the narrow wooden stairs, and he would stand before one without coat, a little bent, in leather apron, with sleeves turned back, blinking[…]

At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook.

He had taken along a long bast rope in his sleigh, since it was the custom on longer journeys to have a spare rope in case the reins needed mending.

Word Forms

• basts
• bass

Synonyms for bast

Related Words

When Should You Use Bast?

Use bast when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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