basto

See also: Basto, bastó, and bastò

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish basto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbæstəʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æstəʊ

Noun

basto (plural bastos)

1. A card of the suit clubs in Spanish-suited playing cards
   • 1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto:

     Spadillio first, unconquerable Lord ! / Let off two captive trumps, and swept the board. / As many more Manillio forc'd to yield, / And march'd a victor from the verdant field. / Him Basto follow'd, but his fate more hard / Gain'd but one trump and one Plebeian card […]

Anagrams

• boast, boats, sabot

Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish basto.

Noun

basto m (plural bastos)

1. (playing cards) alternative form of bastó

Further reading

• “bastos”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Etymology 2

Verb

basto

1. first-person singular present indicative of bastar

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbasto/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -asto
• Syllabification: bas‧to

Noun

basto (accusative singular baston, plural bastoj, accusative plural bastojn)

1. bast

Further reading

• “basto”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “basto”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbasto/ [ˈbas̺.t̪ʊ]
• Rhymes: -asto
• Homophone: vasto
• Hyphenation: bas‧to

Etymology 1

Unknown. Compare Spanish basto.

Adjective

basto (feminine basta, masculine plural bastos, feminine plural bastas)

1. dense, thick

   Synonyms: denso, espeso, mesto

2. packed

   Synonym: mesto

   Antonym: raro

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish basto.

Noun

basto m (plural bastos)

1. (card games, in the plural) clubs
2. (card games) ace of clubs

Etymology 3

Verb

basto

1. first-person singular present indicative of bastar
2. first-person singular present indicative of bastir

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “basto”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “basto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “basto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “basto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbas.to/
• Rhymes: -asto
• Hyphenation: bà‧sto

Etymology 1

From Latin bastum.

Noun

basto m (plural basti)

1. load
2. burden
3. packsaddle (A saddle designed to secure and carry goods on the back of an animal)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

basto

1. first-person singular present indicative of bastare

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbas.toː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbas.to]

Noun

bastō

1. dative/ablative singular of bastum

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbas.tu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbas.tu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈbaʃ.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbaʃ.tu/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -astu, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -aʃtu
• Hyphenation: bas‧to

Verb

basto

1. first-person singular present indicative of bastar
2. first-person singular present indicative of bastir

Adjective

basto (feminine basta, masculine plural bastos, feminine plural bastas)

1. thick and dense

   Synonyms: grosso, denso

2. found in great amounts; abundant, copious

   Synonyms: abundante, copioso

3. compact

   Synonym: compacto

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbasto/ [ˈbas.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -asto
• Syllabification: bas‧to
• Homophone: vasto

Etymology 1

Noun

basto m (plural bastos)

1. packsaddle, saddle pad
   • 1888, Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, chapter XXV, in Ismael‎^[1], Buenos Aires: La Tribuna Nacional, page 148:

     Los últimos que llegaban del rodeo desensillaban y largaban sus pinos sudorosos, dándoles un golpecito con las riendas en los cuartos, después de acariciarles con dos o tres palmadas el cuello, y de pasarles de la cruz a la cola el lomo del cuchillo para refrescar la traspiración espumosa bien señalada por los bastos, las bajeras y la carona.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (card games) clubs

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Pre-Greekder.?

Ancient Greek βαστάζω (bastázō)bor.?

Vulgar Latin *bastō

Spanish bastardeverb.

Spanish basto

Deverbal from bastar.

Adjective

basto (feminine basta, masculine plural bastos, feminine plural bastas)

1. rough, coarse
2. gross
3. homespun
4. uncouth

Derived terms

• bastamente

Adverb

basto

1. (Spain, colloquial) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

   • 2025 September 24, u/Caranx57, r/askspain‎^[2] (Reddit post):

     C[á]gala muy basto

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2026 July 5, u/Ok_Inflation_1811, r/askspain‎^[3] (Reddit post):

     Cuando yo aprendí que en España no solo se hablaba castellano a los 11 o 12 años también flipé basto.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     (Can we archive this URL?)

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

Proto-West Germanic *bast

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Germanic *-janą

Proto-West Germanic *-jan

Frankish *bastijanbor.

Occitan bastirbor.

Spanish bastirdeverb.

Spanish basto

Deverbal from bastir.

Adjective

basto (feminine basta, masculine plural bastos, feminine plural bastas)

1. (obsolete) having been supplied

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

basto

1. first-person singular present indicative of bastar
2. first-person singular present indicative of bastir

Further reading

• “basto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025