Basque

See also: basque

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French Basque, from Gascon Occitan basc, from Latin Vascō, Vascōnēs pl, a pre-Roman tribal population inhabiting the Atlantic coast of the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenean region of southwestern Europe, ancestral to the Basque population of the present day.

Pronunciation

Noun

Basque (plural Basques)

  1. A member of a cultural and ethnic people living in the western Pyrenees and the Bay of Biscay between France and Spain.
    • 2011 October 20, Associated Press, “Basque group ETA declares end to violent campaign”, in CBC News‎[1], archived from the original on 16 July 2025:
      But in more recent times [ETA] has been decimated by arrests and weakening support from Basques with little stomach for terrorism after Sept. 11 and the Madrid train bombings of 2004 by Islamic militants.
    • 2015 April 29, Ashifa Kassam, “Basques safe in Iceland as district repeals decree to kill them on sight”, in The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 August 2020:
      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wanting to visit the dramatic fjords of north-western Iceland need no longer hesitate after the district of Westfjords repealed a 400-year-old decree to kill any Basque caught in the area on sight.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.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Welsh: Basg

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adjective

Basque (not comparable)

  1. Relating to the Basque people or their language.
    • 2015 April 29, Ashifa Kassam, “Basques safe in Iceland as district repeals decree to kill them on sight”, in The Guardian‎[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 August 2020:
      The edict was issued in 1615 after a storm destroyed three Basque whaling vessels on an expedition in Iceland.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Proper noun

Basque

  2. The language of the Basque people.
    Synonyms: Euskara, Uskara
    • 2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN‎[4], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 22 March 2022:
      If you like a challenge, try Hungarian. It’s like no other European language you’ve heard, except maybe Basque.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

French

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bask/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Homophone: basque

Noun

Basque m or f by sense (plural Basques)

  1. Basque (person of either gender)

Derived terms

Descendants

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