Etymology and origin of the Latin word bastum
bastum1 stick, packsaddle
- Confidence
- Uncertain
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- Historia Augusta, 4th–5th century AD
- From
- Ancient Greek βαστάζω
Pronunciation
Forms
bastum n (genitive bastī); second declension[1]
Etymology
The stick is a word of uncertain origin.[2] Wiktionary traces it to an unattested verb *bastō (“to carry”), which may be from Ancient Greek βαστάζω (bastázō, “to lift, carry, bear”);[1] Köbler likewise compares the Greek verb and supposes a Greek noun meaning “litter”, with no further origin known.[3]
It lives on in Italian bastone and French bâton, both “stick”.[4][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Its only ancient example is in the life of Commodus in the Historia Augusta, beside contus “pole”, meaning a stick or staff.[2][4][3]
Semantic evolution
In medieval Latin it named a packsaddle, also in the form basta,[5][6] and in Hungary a saddle: the Hungarian author Pelbartus explains the name of Saint Sebastian from bastum “saddle”.[7] A German charter of 1261–1272 uses it for a pilgrim's staff.[8]
Timeline
- 4th–5th century AD – The Historia Augusta uses it of a stick.[2][3]
- 1261/1272 – A Westphalian charter calls a pilgrim's staff bastum.[8][3]
Meanings
Noun
bastum2 bast
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 1212
- Borrowed from
- Old High German bast
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Germanic *basta-
Pronunciation
Forms
bastum n (genitive bastī); second declension[8][9]
Etymology
The bast is borrowed from Old High German bast (“bast”) according to the MLW,[8] or Old English bæst according to the DMLBS.[9] Köbler traces it to Proto-Germanic *basta- (“bast, rope”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The earliest example is in an English Pipe Roll of 1212, which lists ropes “de basto”, of bast.[9]
Semantic evolution
It stayed a word of trade and estate accounts: ropes of bast for tethering draught animals in pasture and for ships' cordage in England,[9] and a toll on a hundred ropes of bast in a Flemish charter of 1252.[8][6]
Timeline
- 1212 – An English Pipe Roll lists ropes of bast.[9]
- 1252 – A charter of Countess Margaret of Flanders taxes ropes of bast.[8][6]
- 1295 – English accounts record lasts of bast for ships' ropes.[9]
Meanings
Noun
Usage notes
Du Cange also records a bastum written for vastum “devastation” in a charter of Henry II of England,[6] and Köbler a rare bastum “bastard, wild shoot”.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
- ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Derived terms
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Bastum.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/bastum. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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