An archaic past tense form meaning to embrace or clasp tightly, used in Middle English texts.
From Old French 'apaster,' combining 'a-' (to) and 'paster' (to fasten or grip), derived from Latin 'pastus' meaning bound or fastened. The term evolved from physical restraint vocabulary but became obsolete by the early modern period.
This word shows how English has constantly shed old verbs—we once had dozens of ways to describe holding something, but modernization left us with just a handful. It's like archaeological layers in our language where old meanings get buried.
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