bask, baske

t. & i. [Old Norse bathask; Icel. bathast = to bathe oneself. ( Skeat.)] A. Transitive: To place in the sun with the view of being warmed by its heat. "Tis all thy busine , busine how to shun, To bask thy naked body in the sun." Dryden. It is sometimes used reciprocally with the word self . "He was basking himself in the gleam of the sun."L'Estrange. B. Intransitive (now the more frequent): 1. Lit .: To repose in the sun for the purpose of feeling its genial warmth; to sun oneself. "A group of six or seven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs."-Darwin Voyage Round the World, ch. xvii. 2. Fig .: To repose amid genial influences. bask, s . [BASK, v.] A bath or suffusion of genial warmth. ( N.E.D. ) basked, pa. par. & a. [BASK.] bask-er, s. [BASK, v.] One who basks.