bastide

[ba-steed]

noun

1. a medieval fortified town, planned as a whole and built at one time, especially in southern France, for strategic or commercial purposes.

2. a small country house in southern France.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastide¹

1515–25; < Middle French < Old Provençal bastida fortification, noun use of feminine past participle of bastir to build, equivalent to basti- (< Germanic; baste ¹ ) + -da < Latin -ta feminine past participle suffix

Example Sentences

The Gite de la Bastide is one of a handful of stone houses that make up part of a small hamlet nestling in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

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The luxury restaurant takes over the old Bastide location on Melrose Place, breathing new life into an open-air enclave that blooms with greenery and flowers, leading to a private dining room and balcony bar.

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“We bought it from a Frenchwoman who knew the name of every plant in both Latin and French,” she adds of the grounds surrounding the two-story bastide, which was built in the late ’90s.

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And not for the first time that day: Walk into La Sieste Bastide, a sort of meditation room in the Conservatory — a store for high-end designey housewares and expensive clothes that look like they’re not — and you’ll encounter a room decorated like a Mediterranean beach villa.

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It will take a few minutes to realize that you’re sitting inside what feels like an elaborate ad for Bastide Ambre Soir candles, which cost $65 each .

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