Bast

Definitions

1. Alternative spelling of Bastet.
   Egyptian, alt-of, alternative
2. Inner bark of a tree from which rope is traditionally made.
   countable, uncountable
3. Bastardy, illegitimacy of birth.
   obsolete, uncountable
4. Fibre made from the phloem of certain plants (particularly the lime tree) and used for making ropes, cords and matting.
   countable, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“[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.”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level