English Dictionary: BASE | by the DICT Development Group |
8 results for BASE | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Base \Base\ (b[amac]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Based} (b[amac]sd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Basing}.] [From {Base}, n.] 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. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Base \Base\, v. t. [See {Base}, a., 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. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Bass \Bass\, n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See {Base}, a.] 1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone. 2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also {base}.] {Thorough bass}. See {Thorough bass}. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Base \Base\ (b[amac]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. 2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak. 3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] [bd]A pleasant and base swain.[b8] --Bacon. 4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic] Why bastard? wherefore base? --Shak. 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. [bd]A cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind.[b8] --Robynson (More's Utopia). [bd]Base ingratitude.[b8] --Milton. 8. Not classical or correct. [bd]Base Latin.[b8] --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}, n., 4. {Base metal}. See under {Metal}. 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 want 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. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Base \Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. [?] a stepping step, a base, pedestal, fr. [?] 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. [bd]The base of mighty mountains.[b8] --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. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Ground \Ground\ (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.] 1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or some indefinite portion of it. There was not a man to till the ground. --Gen. ii. 5. The fire ran along upon the ground. --Ex. ix. 23. Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the earth. 2. Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region; territory; country. Hence: A territory appropriated to, or resorted to, for a particular purpose; the field or place of action; as, a hunting or fishing ground; a play ground. From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground. --Milton. 3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens, lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the grounds of the estate are well kept. Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds. --Dryden. 4. 4. The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise, reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as, the ground of my hope. 5. (Paint. & Decorative Art) (a) That surface upon which the figures of a composition are set, and which relieves them by its plainness, being either of one tint or of tints but slightly contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a white ground. See {Background}, {Foreground}, and {Middle-ground}. (b) In sculpture, a flat surface upon which figures are raised in relief. (c) In point lace, the net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied; as, Brussels ground. See {Brussels lace}, under {Brussels}. 6. (Etching) A gummy composition spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle. 7. (Arch.) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; -- usually in the plural. Note: Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them. 8. (Mus.) (a) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody. (b) The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song. --Moore (Encyc.). On that ground I'll build a holy descant. --Shak. 9. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit. 10. pl. Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs; lees; feces; as, coffee grounds. 11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. {Ground angling}, angling with a weighted line without a float. {Ground annual} (Scots Law), an estate created in land by a vassal who instead of selling his land outright reserves an annual ground rent, which becomes a perpetual charge upon the land. {Ground ash}. (Bot.) See {Groutweed}. {Ground bailiff} (Mining), a superintendent of mines. --Simmonds. {Ground bait}, bits of bread, boiled barley or worms, etc., thrown into the water to collect the fish, --Wallon. {Ground bass} [or] {base} (Mus.), fundamental base; a fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody. {Ground beetle} (Zo[94]l.), one of numerous species of carnivorous beetles of the family {Carabid[91]}, living mostly in burrows or under stones, etc. {Ground chamber}, a room on the ground floor. {Ground cherry}. (Bot.) (a) A genus ({Physalis}) of herbaceous plants having an inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry tomato ({P. Alkekengi}). See {Alkekengl}. (b) A European shrub ({Prunus Cham[91]cerasus}), with small, very acid fruit. {Ground cuckoo}. (Zo[94]l.) See {Chaparral cock}. {Ground cypress}. (Bot.) See {Lavender cotton}. {Ground dove} (Zo[94]l.), one of several small American pigeons of the genus {Columbigallina}, esp. {C. passerina} of the Southern United States, Mexico, etc. They live chiefly on the ground. {Ground fish} (Zo[94]l.), any fish which constantly lives on the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut. {Ground floor}, the floor of a house most nearly on a level with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in England, the {first floor}. {Ground form} (Gram.), the stem or basis of a word, to which the other parts are added in declension or conjugation. It is sometimes, but not always, the same as the root. | |
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]: | |
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