bass

bass
Base Base (b[=a]s), a. [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. [1913 Webster]

2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] ``A peasant and base swain.'' --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]

Why bastard? wherefore base? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals. [1913 Webster]

6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

8. Not classical or correct. ``Base Latin.'' --Fuller. [1913 Webster]

9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In this sense, commonly written {bass.}] [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

{Base fee}, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a qualified fee. See note under {Fee}, n., 4.

{Base metal}. See under {Metal}. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous; sordid; degraded.

Usage: {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. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Bass — bezeichnet: Bass (Akustik), Schallwellen mit tiefen Frequenzen („tiefe Töne“) Bass (Instrument), ein Musikinstrument mit Bass Tonlage oder das tiefste Instrument einer Instrumentenfamilie Bass (Stimmlage), eine tiefe Männer Stimmlage,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bass — [bas], der; es, Bässe [ bɛsə]: 1. Männerstimme in der tiefen Lage: er hat einen tiefen, rauen, sonoren Bass. 2. Sänger mit einer tiefen Stimme. Syn.: ↑ Bassist. 3. tiefste Stimme eines Musikstücks. 4. sehr tief klingendes größtes… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Bass — (b[.a]s), n.; pl. {Bass}, and sometimes {Basses} (b[.a]s [e^]z). [A corruption of barse.] (Zo[ o]l.) 1. An edible, spiny finned fish, esp. of the genera {Roccus}, {Labrax}, and related genera. There are many species. [1913 Webster] Note: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bass — (b[.a]s), n.; pl. {Bass}, and sometimes {Basses} (b[.a]s [e^]z). [A corruption of barse.] (Zo[ o]l.) 1. An edible, spiny finned fish, esp. of the genera {Roccus}, {Labrax}, and related genera. There are many species. [1913 Webster] Note: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bass — bass; bass·ing; bass·ist; bass·ly; bass·ness; bass·ra; con·tra·bass·ist; oc·to·bass; sub·bass; con·tra·bass; …   English syllables

  • Bass — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Bass puede referirse a: Bass, un apellido; la palabra inglesa para describir los sonidos graves, o por extensión un instrumento capaz de producir tonos graves, en general, lo que en español se denomina bajo; Bass, un …   Wikipedia Español

  • bass — bass1 [bās] n. [ME bas, BASE2; sp. infl. by It basso] 1. the range of the lowest male voice, usually from middle C to two or more octaves below 2. a) a voice or singer with such a range b) an instrument with a similar range within its family; …   English World dictionary

  • Bass — (b[=a]s), n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See {Base}, a.] [1913 Webster] 1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bass — Bass, a. Deep or grave in tone. [1913 Webster] {Bass clef} (Mus.), the character placed at the beginning of the staff containing the bass part of a musical composition. [See Illust. under {Clef}.] {Bass voice}, a deep sounding voice; a voice… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bass — Bass, estrecho de * * * En zoología, cualquiera de numerosas especies de peces, muchas apreciadas como alimento o pesca deportiva. La mayoría pertenece a tres familias (todas del orden Perciformes): 400 especies de serránido y mero; la familia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • bass — the fish [15] and bass the musical term [15] are of course completely unrelated words, with different pronunciations. Bass meaning ‘of the lowest register’ is simply a modified spelling of the adjective base, under the influence of Italian basso …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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