• enPR: bās, IPA: /beɪs/
• (Ireland) IPA: /beːs/

From Middle English base, bas, baas, from Old French base, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις.

base

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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:

        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.
7. (cosmetics) Foundation: a cosmetic cream to make the face appear uniform.
8. (chemistry) Any of a class of generally water-soluble compounds 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 four places that a runner can stand without being subject to being tagged out when the ball is in play.
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 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 field), or an ordinary occupying this space, the champagne. (Compare terrace..)
16. (mathematics) A number raised to the power of an exponent.

    The logarithm to base 2 of 8 is 3.

17. (mathematics) Synonym of radix.
18. (topology) The set of sets from which a topology is generated.
19. (topology) A topological space, looked at in relation to one of its covering spaces, fibrations, or bundles.
20. (group theory) A sequence of elements not jointly stabilized by any nontrivial group element.
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
    • 1709, J[ohn] Dryden, J[ohn] Oldham, “(please specify the page)”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […], →OCLC ↗:

      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, sometimes, in the plural) A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
27. (historical, sometimes, in the plural) A kind of armour skirt, of mail or plate, imitating the preceding civilian skirt.

    Coordinate terms: tonlet, lamboys

28. (obsolete) The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
29. (obsolete) An apron.
    • 1613, John Marston, The Insatiate Countess:

      bakers in their linen bases

30. 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.
31. (politics) A group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office.

    Synonyms: electoral base, political base

32. (Marxism) The forces and relations of production that produce the necessities and amenities of life.

    Synonyms: substructure

    Antonyms: superstructure

33. A material that holds paint or other materials together; a binder.
34. (aviation) Short for base leg.
35. (slang, uncountable) freebase cocaine

• (chemical compound that will neutralize an acid) alkali

• (antonym(s) of “chemical compound that will neutralize an alkali”): acid
• (antonym(s) of “end of a leaf”): apex

• French: base
• German: Basis, Grundlage
• Italian: basi, basamento, fondamenta
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: осно́ва
• Spanish: base

• French: base
• German: Basis, Grundlage
• Italian: base
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: старт

• French: base, caserne
• German: Kaserne, Basis, Stützpunkt
• Italian: base, caserma
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: ба́за
• Spanish: base

• French: base, quartier général
• German: Basis
• Italian: sede, quartier generale
• Portuguese: base, sede
• Russian: штаб
• Spanish: base, sede

• Italian: ingrediente, basilare

• Italian: mordente

• Italian: sottofondo

• French: base
• German: Base
• Italian: base, alcali
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: основа́ние
• Spanish: base

• Portuguese: pique

• French: base, but, coussin
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: ба́за
• Spanish: base

• German: Sockel
• Italian: base, zoccolo, basamento, piedistallo
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: осно́ва

• Russian: ба́за

• French: base
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: ба́за

• French: base
• German: Basis
• Italian: base
• Portuguese: base
• Russian: основа́ние

• French: champagne
• German: Schildfuß
• Italian: campagna
• Spanish: campaña

• Portuguese: base
• Russian: основа́ние
• Spanish: base

base (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[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, 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.
4. (slang) To freebase.

• French: baser
• German: basieren
• Italian: basare, erigere, edificare
• Portuguese: basear-se em
• Spanish: basar

• Portuguese: basear-se em, ficar em

From Middle English base, bas, from Old French bas, from Late Latin bassus.

base (comparative baser, superlative basest)

1. (obsolete) Low in height; short.
2. Low in place or position.
3. (obsolete) Of low value or degree.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC ↗:

     If thou livest in paine and sorrow, thy base courage is the cause of it, To die there wanteth but will.

4. (archaic) Of low social standing or rank; vulgar, common.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii ↗:

     UUhat meanes the mightie Turkiſh Emperor
     To talke with one ſo baſe as Tamburlaine?

   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii], page 285 ↗, column 2:

     Wherefore should I / Stand in the plague of custome, and permit / The curiosity of Nations, to deprive me? For that I am some twelve, or fourteen Moonshines / Lag of a Brother? Why Bastard? Wherefore base? / When my Dimensions are as well compact, My minde as generous, and my shape as true / As honest madams issue? Why brand they us / With Base? With basenes Bastardie? Base, Base?

   • 1623, Francis Bacon, De Augmentis Scientiarum:

     a peasant and base swain

5. Morally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.
   • 1551, Ralph Robynson, transl., More's Utopia:

     a cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind

   • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC ↗:

     base ingratitude

   • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace ↗”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC ↗; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831 ↗, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

     “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.
   • 1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World‎, London: Chatto & Windus:

     'Like this horrible film.'
     'Horrible?' Lenina was genuinely astonished. 'But I thought it was lovely.'
     'It was base,' he said indignantly, 'it was ignoble.'

7. (of a metal) Not considered precious or noble.
8. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased.

   base coin

   base bullion

9. (obsolete) Of illegitimate birth; bastard.
10. Not classical or correct.
    • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC ↗:

      base Latin

11. Obsolete form of bass

    the base tone of a violin

12. (legal) Relating to feudal land tenure held by a tenant from a lord in exchange for services that are seen as unworthy for noblemen to perform, such as villeinage.

    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.

• (low, short) little, petite, short
• (of position) low-lying, lowland
• (of value) See Thesaurus:insignificant
• (vulgar, common) common, low-born, lowly, plebeian, vulgar
• (immoral) See Thesaurus:despicable
• (of inferior quality) See Thesaurus:low-quality
• (describing metals)
• (of illegitimate birth) See Thesaurus:illegitimate
• (not classical)
• (not held by honourable service)

• likeable
• desirable
• admirable
• noble

• French: bas, abject, indigne, ignoble
• Portuguese: baixo
• Spanish: bajo

• French: indigne, ignoble
• Portuguese: ruim

• Portuguese: baixo
• Spanish: rastrero

• Italian: plebaglia, volgo, popolino, plebe, plebeo, volgare, popolano

• Italian: basico

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

base (uncountable)

1. (now, chiefly, US, historical) The game of prisoners' bars. [from 15th c.]
   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene iii]:

     to run the country base

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗:

     So ran they all, as they had bene at bace, / They being chased that did others chase.

Variant forms.

1. Alternative form of BASE

From base ("short").

1. Surname.

• IPA: /beɪs/

1. Acronym of building, antenna-tower, span, earth