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Today it means

bask

to lie and enjoy warmth and light, especially from the sun

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Where does the word "bask" come from? It comes from Old Norse bathask, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

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Where does the word "bask" come from? It comes from Old Norse bathask, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Bask’s story begins in Old Norse: bathask meant “to bathe oneself.” Probably from Old Norse 'baða', to bathe, with a reflexive ending. It reached English by 1300s as bask. Settled as the English word for lying in pleasant warmth. Today, bask means to lie and enjoy warmth and light, especially from the sun.

  1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval bathask "to bathe oneself", probably from Old Norse 'baða', to bathe, with a reflexive ending.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s bask "to lie in and enjoy pleasant warmth", settled as the English word for lying in pleasant warmth.

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