BASE. Something low; inferior. This word is frequently used in composition; as base court, base estate, base fee, &c.

Source: Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
 

base

radix.

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
 

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]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Base \Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ba`sis a stepping, step, a base, pedestal, fr. bai`nein 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. [1913 Webster]

2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

6. (Pharmacy) The chief ingredient in a compound. [1913 Webster]

7. (Dyeing) A substance used as a mordant. --Ure. [1913 Webster]

8. (Fort.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions. [1913 Webster]

9. (Geom.) The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand. [1913 Webster]

10. (Math.) The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms. [1913 Webster]

The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

13. (Mil.) The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

14. (Zool.) That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ. [1913 Webster]

15. (Crystallog.) The basal plane of a crystal. [1913 Webster]

16. (Geol.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline. [1913 Webster]

17. (Her.) The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon. [1913 Webster]

18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

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.]

[1913 Webster]

20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games. [1913 Webster]

To their appointed base they went. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

24. A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." --Shak. [1913 Webster]

25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Base \Base\ (b[=a]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (b[=a]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. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Base \Base\, v. t. [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.]

1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

If any . . . based his pike. --Sir T. North. [1913 Webster]

2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

Metals which we can not base. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Bass \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 base.]

[1913 Webster]

Thorough bass. See Thorough bass. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

488 Moby Thesaurus words for "base": CP, GHQ, HQ, Mickey Mouse, abhorrent, abject, abominable, acid, acidity, agent, alkali, alkalinity, alloisomer, anchor, angle, anion, antacid, antecedents, arrant, atom, atrocious, awful, background, bad, baluster, balustrade, banister, base of operations, base-minded, baseboard, baseborn, basement, basis, bearing wall, beastly, bed, bed on, bedding, bedrock, beggarly, below contempt, beneath contempt, biochemical, black, blackguardly, blamable, blameworthy, bolster, bottom, bottom on, brutal, build, build in, build on, buttress, caitiff, call, camp, caryatid, cation, causation, cause, cause and effect, center of authority, central administration, central office, central station, chassis, cheap, cheesy, chemical, chemical element, chromoisomer, clown white, coarse, cold cream, collector, colonnade, column, command post, common, compact, company headquarters, compound, construct, contemptible, copolymer, core, corrupt, cosmetics, counterfeit, cowardly, craven, criminal, crude, crummy, dado, damnable, dark, dastard, dastardly, debased, deficient, degraded, degrading, deplorable, depraved, derive, despicable, determinant, determinative, detestable, die, dimer, dire, dirty, disgraceful, disgusting, dishonorable, disreputable, distance, downtrodden, draw, dreadful, drugstore complexion, dunghill, dunghilly, egregious, element, emitter, enormous, establish, etiology, evil, evil-minded, execrable, eye shadow, eyebrow pencil, factor, fake, fetid, filamentary transistor, filthy, fix, flagitious, flagrant, floor, flooring, fond, foot, footing, footstalk, forbidding, forged, form, foul, found, found on, foundation, foundation cream, fourth-class, frame, framework, fraudulent, fulsome, fundament, fundamental, general headquarters, germanium crystal triode, grave, greasepaint, grievous, gross, ground, ground on, grounds, groundwork, hand cream, hand lotion, hardpan, hateful, headquarters, heavy chemicals, heinous, high polymer, hinge, home, homopolymer, hook-collector transistor, horrible, horrid, humble, humiliating, hydracid, ignoble, ignominious, imperfect, improper, inadequate, incompetent, indecent, infamous, inferior, infra dig, infrastructure, iniquitous, inorganic chemical, install, insufferable, insufficient, invest, ion, irregular, isomer, jack, keel, knavish, lamentable, lascivious, lay the foundation, lewd, line of departure, lip rouge, lipstick, little, loathsome, lousy, low, low-class, low-down, low-grade, low-minded, low-quality, low-test, lowborn, lower strata, lowest level, lowest point, lowly, lumpen, macromolecule, main office, makeup, maladroit, malodorous, mangy, mascara, mean, measly, mediocre, menial, mephitic, metamer, miasmal, miasmic, miserable, molecule, monomer, monstrous, mopboard, mudpack, nadir, nail polish, nasty, naughty, nauseating, nefarious, neutralizer, newel-post, noisome, nonacid, not comparable, not in it, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, occasion, odious, offensive, organic chemical, ornery, out of it, outrageous, oxyacid, paint, paltry, pavement, peccant, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, perspective, petty, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, pinchbeck, pitch, pitiable, pitiful, place, plant, plebeian, plinth, point of departure, point-contact transistor, poky, pole, poltroon, poltroonish, polymer, poor, pornographic, port of embarkation, position, post, powder, powder puff, predicate, principle, profane, prop, pseudoisomer, puff, punk, pusillanimous, put in, put up, queen-post, radical, rank, rascally, reagent, rebarbative, recreant, regrettable, repellent, reprehensible, reprobate, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, rest, revolting, ribald, riprap, rock bottom, roguish, root, rotten, rouge, rubbishy, rude, rudiment, sad, scabby, scampish, scandalous, schlock, scoundrelly, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scurrilous, scurvy, seat, seating, second-best, second-class, secure, seedy, selfish, servile, set, set on, set up, shabby, shaft, shameful, shocking, shoddy, shoemold, sickening, sill, sinful, slavish, sleazy, small, socle, sole, solid ground, solid rock, sordid, sorry, spacistor, spurious, squalid, staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, standing, start, starting gate, starting place, starting point, starting post, station, status, stay, stem, stereobate, stimulus, stinking, stylobate, subbase, submissive, subservient, substratum, substruction, substructure, sulfacid, support, surbase, tacky, takeoff, talcum, talcum powder, tatty, terra firma, terrible, tetrode transistor, theme, third-class, third-rate, tinny, toe, too bad, transistor, trashy, trimer, trivial, trunk, ugly, unclean, underbuilding, undercarriage, undergird, undergirding, underlie, underlying level, underpinning, understruction, understructure, undignified, unforgivable, unipolar transistor, unmentionable, unpardonable, unseemly, unskillful, unspeakable, unwashed, unworthy, upright, vanishing cream, vanity case, venue, vest, vicious, viewpoint, vile, villainous, vulgar, wainscot, war paint, warrant, wicked, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, wrong

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

base adj
1: serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats" [syn: basal]
2: (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
3: of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth" [syn: baseborn, humble, lowly]
4: not adhering to ethical or moral principles; "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds" [syn: dishonorable, dishonourable, immoral, unethical]
5: having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality; "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics" [syn: mean, meanspirited]
6: illegitimate [syn: baseborn]
7: debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"

noun

1: any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia" [syn: alkali]
2: installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases" [syn: base of operations]
3: lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure]
4: place that runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag" [syn: bag]
5: (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system" [syn: radix]
6: the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
7: (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
8: a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor" [syn: floor]
9: the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" [syn: basis, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone]
10: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: pedestal, stand]
11: the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
12: the most important or necessary part of something; "the basis of this drink is orange juice" [syn: basis]
13: the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end [syn: home]
14: an intensely anti-western terrorist network that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist group; has cells in more than 50 countries [syn: al-Qaeda, Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida]
15: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root, root word, stem, theme, radical]
16: the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan" [syn: infrastructure]
17: the principal ingredient of a mixture; "glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments"; "he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green"; "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"
18: a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
19: (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector

verb

1: use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation" [syn: establish, ground, found]
2: use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes [syn: free-base]
3: assign to a station [syn: station, post, send, place] [also: bases (pl)]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

2. Low in place or position. [Obs.]

--Shak.

3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] ``A pleasant and base swain.'' --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. ``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, 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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. ``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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Base \Base\ (b[=a]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (b[=a]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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

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["o]l.), one of numerous species of carnivorous beetles of the family Carabid[ae], 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[ae]cerasus), with small, very acid fruit.

Ground cuckoo. (Zo["o]l.) See Chaparral cock.

Ground cypress. (Bot.) See Lavender cotton.

Ground dove (Zo["o]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["o]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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)