nounneuterja-stemberryUnknown. Has been compared to Old Irish basc (‘red, berry-colored’), based on a purported connection with Proto-West Germanic *basu (‘purple, crimson’), as well as to Latin fascis (‘bundle’) and its relatives, though Latin bāca (‘berry’) is likely not related. Older theories tentatively connected the word to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (‘to shine, glisten’) or *bʰes- (‘to blow, chew, rub’).