Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Base

Base

(bās)
,
Adj.
[OE.
bass
, F.
bas
, low, fr. LL.
bassus
thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L.
Bassus
, a proper name, and W.
bas
shallow. Cf.
Bass
a part in music.]
1.
Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth;
as,
base
shrubs
.
[Archaic]
Shak.
2.
Low in place or position.
[Obs.]
Shak.
3.
Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean.
[Archaic]
“A peasant and base swain.”
Bacon.
4.
Illegitimate by birth; bastard.
[Archaic]
Why bastard? wherefore
base
?
Shakespeare
5.
Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.
6.
Alloyed with inferior metal; debased;
as,
base
coin;
base
bullion
.
7.
Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial;
as, a
base
fellow;
base
motives;
base
occupations
.
“A cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind.”
Robynson (More’s Utopia).
“Base ingratitude.”
Milton.
8.
Not classical or correct.
“Base Latin.”
Fuller.
9.
Deep or grave in sound;
as, the
base
tone of a violin
.
[In this sense, commonly written
bass.
]
10.
(Law)
Not held by honorable service;
as, a
base
estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called
base
, or low, and the tenant, a
base
tenant
.
Base fee
,
formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a qualified fee. See note under
Fee
,
Noun.
, 4.
–
Base metal
.
See under
Metal
.
Syn. – Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous; sordid; degraded.
–
Base
,
Vile
,
Mean
. These words, as expressing moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean denote, in different degrees, the lack of what is valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy is vile; undue compliances are mean.

Base

,
Noun.
[F.
base
, L.
basis
, fr. Gr.
βάσισ
a stepping, step, a base, pedestal, fr.
βαίνειν
to go, step, akin to E.
come
. Cf.
Basis
, and see
Come
.]
1.
The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation;
as, the
base
of a statue
.
“The base of mighty mountains.”
Prescott.
2.
Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.
3.
(Arch.)
(a)
The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.
(b)
The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration.
4.
(Bot.)
That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.
5.
(Chem.)
The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; – applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids.
6.
(Pharmacy)
The chief ingredient in a compound.
7.
(Dyeing)
A substance used as a mordant.
Ure.
8.
(Fort.)
The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.
9.
(Geom.)
The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.
10.
(Math.)
The number from which a mathematical table is constructed;
as, the
base
of a system of logarithms
.
11.
[See
Base
low.]
A low, or deep, sound.
(Mus.)
(a)
The lowest part; the deepest male voice.
(b)
One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.
[Now commonly written
bass
.]
The trebles squeak for fear, the
bases
roar.
Dryden.
12.
(Mil.)
A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.
13.
(Mil.)
The smallest kind of cannon.
[Obs.]
14.
(Zool.)
That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.
15.
(Crystallog.)
The basal plane of a crystal.
16.
(Geol.)
The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.
17.
(Her.)
The lower part of the field. See
Escutcheon
.
18.
The housing of a horse.
[Obs.]
19.
pl.
A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
[Obs.]
20.
The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
[Obs.]
21.
An apron.
[Obs.]
“Bakers in their linen bases.”
Marston.
22.
The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.
To their appointed
base
they went.
Dryden.
23.
(Surv.)
A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles.
Lyman.
24.
A rustic play; – called also
prisoner's base
,
prison base
, or
bars
.
“To run the country base.”
Shak.
25.
(Baseball)
Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.
Altern base
.
See under
Altern
.
–
Attic base
.
(Arch.)
See under
Attic
.
–
Base course
.
(Arch.)
(a)
The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made of large stones or a mass of concrete; – called also
foundation course
.
(b)
The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above.
–
Base hit
(Baseball)
,
a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out.
–
Base line
.
(a)
A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations.
(b)
A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent.
–
Base plate
,
the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate.
–
Base ring
(Ordnance)
,
a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding.
H. L. Scott.

Base

(bās)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Based
(bāsd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Basing
.]
[From
Base
,
Noun.
]
To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; – used with
on
or
upon
.
Bacon.

Base

,
Verb.
T.
[See
Base
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Abase
.]
1.
To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower.
[Obs.]
If any . . .
based
his pike.
Sir T. North.
2.
To reduce the value of; to debase.
[Obs.]
Metals which we can not
base
.
Bacon.

Webster 1828 Edition

Base

BASE

, a.
1.
Low in place. Obs.
2.
Mean; vile; worthless; that is, low in value or estimation; used of things.
3.
Of low station; of mean account; without rank, dignity or estimation among men; used of persons.
The base shall behave proudly against the honorable. Is.iii.
4.
Of mean spirit; disingenuous; illiberal; low; without dignity of sentiment; as a base and abject multitude.
5.
Of little comparative value; applied to metals, and perhaps to all metals, except gold and silver.
6.
Deep; grave; applied to sounds; as the base sounds of a viol.
7.
Of illegitimate birth; born out of wedlock.
8.
Not held by honorable tenure. A base estate is an estate held by services not honorable,not in capite, or by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.
48
Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.

BASE

,
Noun.
[L. basis; that which is set, the foundation or bottom.]
1.
The bottom of any thing, considered as its support or the part of a thing on which it stands or rests; as the base of a column, the pedestal of a statue, the foundation of a house,&c.
In architecture, the base of a pillar properly is that part which is between the top of a pedestal and the bottom of the shaft; but when there is no pedestal, it is the part between the bottom of the column and the plinth. Usually it consists of certain spires or circles. The pedestal also has its base.
2.
In fortification, the exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which is drawn from the flanked angle of a bastion to the angle opposite to it.
3.
In gunnery, the least sort of ordnance, the diameter of whose bore is l 1/4 inch.
4.
The part of any ornament which hangs down, as housings.
5.
The broad part of any thing, as the bottom of a cone.
6.
In old authors, stockings; armor for the legs.
7.
The place from which racers or tilters start; the bottom of the field; the carcer or starting post.
8.
The lowest or gravest part in music; improperly written bass.
9.
A rustic play, called also bays, or prison bars.
10. In geometry, the lowest side of the perimeter of a figure. Any side of a triangle may be called its base, but this term most properly belongs to the side which is parallel to the horizon. In rectangled triangles, the base, properly, is the side opposite to the right angle. The base of a solid figure is that on which it stands. The base of a conic section is a right line in the hyperbola and parabola, arising from the common intersection of the secant plane and the base of the cone.
11. In chimistry, any body which is dissolved by another body, which it receives and fixes. Thus any alkaline, earthy or metallic substance, combining with an acid, forms a compound or neutral salt, of which it is the base. Such salts are called salts with alkaline, earthy or metallic bases.
12. Thorough base, in music, is the part performed with base viols or theorbos, while the voices sing and other instruments perform their parts, or during the intervals when the other parts stop. It is distinguished by figures over the notes.
Counter base is a second or double base, when there are several in the same concert.

BASE

,
Verb.
T.
To embase; to reduce the value by the admixture of meaner metals. [Little used.]
2.
To found; to lay the base or foundation.
To base and build the commonwealth of man.

Definition 2024

Base

Base

See also: base, BASE, basé, and Báse

English

Proper noun

Base

  1. A surname​.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German base, from Old High German basa, from Proto-Germanic *baswǭ ‎(“father's sister; paternal aunt”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bääsje ‎(“grandmother”), Dutch baas ‎(“master; boss”). More at boss.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaːzə/
  • Rhymes: -aːzə

Noun

Base f ‎(genitive Base, plural Basen)

  1. (archaic) A female cousin.
  2. A chemical compound that will neutralize an acid; base.

Synonyms

base

base

See also: Base, BASE, basé, and Báse

English

Noun

base ‎(plural bases)

  1. Something from which other things extend; a foundation.
    1. A supporting, lower or bottom component of a structure or object.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess:
        Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.
  2. The starting point of a logical deduction or thought; basis.
  3. A permanent structure for housing military personnel and material.
  4. The place where decisions for an organization are made; headquarters.
  5. (cooking, painting, pharmacy) A basic but essential component or ingredient.
  6. A substance used as a mordant in dyeing.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ure to this entry?)
  7. (cosmetics) Foundation: a cosmetic cream to make the face appear uniform.
  8. (chemistry) Any of a class of generally water-soluble compounds, having bitter taste, that turn red litmus blue, and react with acids to form salts.
  9. Important areas in games and sports.
    1. A safe zone in the children's games of tag and hide-and-go-seek.
    2. (baseball) One of the three places that a runner can stand without being subject to being tagged out.
  10. (architecture) The lowermost part of a column, between the shaft and the pedestal or pavement.
  11. (biology, biochemistry) A nucleotide's nucleobase in the context of a DNA or RNA biopolymer.
  12. (botany) The end of a leaf, petal or similar organ where it is attached to its support.
  13. (electronics) The name of the controlling terminal of a bipolar transistor (BJT).
  14. (geometry) The lowest side of a in a triangle or other polygon, or the lowest face of a cone, pyramid or other polyhedron laid flat.
  15. (heraldry) The lowest third of a shield or escutcheon.
  16. (heraldry) The lower part of the field. See escutcheon.
  17. (mathematics) A number raised to the power of an exponent.
    The logarithm to base 2 of 8 is 3.
  18. (mathematics) Synonym of radix.
  19. (topology) The set of sets from which a topology is generated.
  20. (topology) A topological space, looked at in relation to one of its covering spaces, fibrations, or bundles.
  21. (acrobatics, cheerleading) In hand-to-hand balance, the person who supports the flyer; the person that remains in contact with the ground.
  22. (linguistics) A morpheme (or morphemes) that serves as a basic foundation on which affixes can be attached.
  23. (music) Dated form of bass.
    • Dryden
      The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar.
  24. (military, historical) The smallest kind of cannon.
  25. (archaic) The housing of a horse.
  26. (historical, in the plural) A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armour) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
  27. (obsolete) The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
  28. (obsolete) An apron.
    • Marston
      bakers in their linen bases
  29. A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Lyman to this entry?)
Synonyms
  • (chemical compound that will neutralize an acid): alkali
Antonyms
  • (chemical compound that will neutralize an acid): acid
  • (end of a leaf): apex
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Related terms
Translations

Verb

base ‎(third-person singular simple present bases, present participle basing, simple past and past participle based)

  1. (transitive) To give as its foundation or starting point; to lay the foundation of.
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
      Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants.
  2. (transitive) To be located (at a particular place).
  3. (acrobatics, cheerleading) To act as a base; to be the person supporting the flyer.
    • 2005, John T. Warren, Laura B. Lengel, Casting Gender: Women and Performance in Intercultural Context, ISBN 0820474193, page 73:
      Apart from time taken out during radio- and chemotherapy, Maurs continued to participate in POW. She would base a flyer in a double balance and make the audience laugh with her clowning antics for two more shows.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old French bas, from Late Latin bassus ‎(“low”).

Adjective

base ‎(comparative baser or more base, superlative basest or most base)

  1. (obsolete) Low in height; short.
    • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece, l. 664:
      The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot.
  2. Low in place or position.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  3. (obsolete) Of low value or degree.
  4. (archaic) Of low social standing or rank; vulgar, common.
    • Francis Bacon
      a pleasant and base swain
  5. Morally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.
    • Robynson (More's Utopia)
      a cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind
    • Milton
      base ingratitude
    • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace:
      “Mrs. Yule's chagrin and horror at what she called her son's base ingratitude knew no bounds ; at first it was even thought that she would never get over it. […]”
  6. (now rare) Inferior; unworthy, of poor quality.
  7. Designating those metals which are not classed as precious or noble.
  8. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased.
    base coin;  base bullion
  9. (obsolete) Of illegitimate birth; bastard.
    • Shakespeare
      Why bastard? wherefore base?
  10. Not classical or correct.
    base Latin
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)
  11. Obsolete form of bass.
    the base tone of a violin
  12. (law) Not held by honourable service.
    A base estate is one held by services not honourable, or held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant is a base tenant.
Usage notes
  • Said of fellows, motives, occupations, etc.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

Probably a specific use of Etymology 1, above; perhaps also a development of the plural of bar.

Noun

base ‎(uncountable)

  1. (now chiefly US, historical) The game of prisoners' bars. [from 15th c.]
    • Shakespeare
      to run the country base
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.8:
      So ran they all, as they had bene at bace, / They being chased that did others chase.

Etymology 4

Variant forms.

Acronym

base

  1. Alternative form of BASE
Derived terms

Anagrams

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Noun

base f ‎(plural bases)

  1. base

Related terms

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Noun

base f ‎(plural bases)

  1. base
  2. basis
  3. grounding
  4. foundation

Related terms

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbasɛ/

Noun

base

  1. dative singular of basa
  2. locative singular of basa
  3. vocative singular of bas
  4. locative singular of bas

Danish

Noun

base c (singular definite basen, plural indefinite baser)

  1. (chemistry) base (generally understood to be a Brønsted-Lowry base)
  2. (military) base
  3. headquarters

Declension

Synonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaː.zə/

Noun

base f ‎(plural basen, diminutive basetje n)

  1. base (chemistry: class of compounds), alkali

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

  • basisch
  • basenpaar
  • basenvolgorde
  • Lewisbase

References

  • “base” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

French

Etymology

From Old French base, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɑz/
  • (France) IPA(key): /baz/
  • (Quebec, formal) IPA(key): /bɑːz/
  • (Quebec, informal) IPA(key): /bɑʊ̯z/

Noun

base f ‎(plural bases)

  1. base (bottom part of something)
  2. base (safe place)
  3. base, basis (fundamental belief)
  4. (chemistry) base

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Noun

base f ‎(plural bases)

  1. base

Related terms

Italian

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Noun

base f ‎(plural basi)

  1. base
  2. basis

Antonyms

Related terms

Latin

Noun

base

  1. ablative singular of basis

Northern Sami

Verb

base

  1. inflection of bassit:
    1. present indicative connegative
    2. second-person singular imperative
    3. imperative connegative

Old French

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Noun

base f ‎(oblique plural bases, nominative singular base, nominative plural bases)

  1. base (bottom part; supporting part)

Descendants

References

  • (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (base, supplement)

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Pronunciation

Noun

base f (plural bases)

  1. basis
  2. base
  3. groundwork

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‎(básis).

Pronunciation

Noun

base f ‎(plural bases)

  1. base
  2. basis
  3. (linear algebra) basis
  4. grounding
  5. foundation
  6. (basketball) point guard

Related terms

Verb

base

  1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of basar.
  2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of basar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of basar.
  4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of basar.

Venetian

Adjective

base f

  1. feminine plural of baso

Etymology

From base ‎(“short”).

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