basque
/bæsk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.18 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A member of a cultural and ethnic people living in the western Pyrenees and the Bay of Biscay between France and Spain.
noun
A woman's close-fitting bodice, underbodice, or corset having such a feature.
Example Sentences
- "Basques wanting to visit the dramatic fjords of north-western Iceland need no longer hesitate after the district of Westfjords repealed a 400-year-old decree to kill any Basque caught in the area on sight. […] The brewing conflict between locals and the whalers prompted then-sheriff Ari Magnússon to draw up a decree that allowed Basques to be killed with impunity in the district."
- "The edict was issued in 1615 after a storm destroyed three Basque whaling vessels on an expedition in Iceland."
- "If you like a challenge, try Hungarian. It’s like no other European language you’ve heard, except maybe Basque."
- "Will she be able to pull off the double act? Can she play the cosy tradwife and still be the sexpot in a basque?"
Etymology
Borrowed from French Basque, from Gascon Occitan basc, from Latin Vascō, Vascōnēs pl, a pre-Roman era tribe settled in the Atlantic Biscaian gulf and Pyrenean mountain region of south-western Europe, who were ancestors of the current Basque population.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bæsk/
- British English: /bɑːsk/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Basque Country
Basque Shepherd Dog
Proto-Basque
Wiktionary’s coverage of Basque terms
saut de basque