An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Bast

by Friedrich Kluge

Bast, m., ‘inner bark of trees, husk,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bast (also buost with gradation), OHG. *bast, m., n. It corresponds to AS. bœst, E., Du. and OIc. bast, Goth. *bastus. Hence the deriv. OHG. and MidHG. besten, ‘to strap,’ as well as the Rom. cognate basto, ‘pack-saddie’ (see under Bastard), with which Swiss bašt, ‘saddle,’ agrees. There is no justification for deriving the words from binden, for the absence of the nasal, the occurrence of st (for which we should have expected ss from dh + t), and the gradation in MidHG. buost render such a derivation impossible. The resemblance in sound between this word and binden proves nothing as to the etymology; this popular and superficial derivation was suggested by the use of bast. The Teut. word, which is more probably connected with the root bes appearing in Besen, found its way into Rom.; comp. Ital. basta, ‘basting, stitching.’