Also called bast fiber. any of several strong, woody fibers, as flax, hemp, ramie, or jute, obtained from phloem tissue and used in the manufacture of woven goods and cordage.
Origin
before 900;Middle English;Old Englishbæst; cognate with Dutch,German,Old Norsebast; perhaps ultimately cognate with Latinfascis bundle. See bass3
Examples from the web for bast
Even though it must take bast amounts of processing and information for a conscience to arise.
Processability of flax plant stalks into functional bast fibers.
Viscoelastic properties of kenaf bast fiber in relation to stem age.
British Dictionary definitions for bast
bast
/bæst/
noun
1.
Also called bass. fibrous material obtained from the phloem of jute, hemp, flax, lime, etc, used for making rope, matting, etc
Old English bæst; related to Old Norse, Middle High German bast
Word Origin and History for bast
n.
"inner bark of the linden tree," Old English bæst, a general Germanic word (cf. Old Norse, Old Saxon, Middle Dutch, Old High German, German bast), of uncertain origin.