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. -- 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 ]

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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Based 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 ]

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 ]

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. ] [ 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 ]

21. An apron. [ Obs. ] “Bakers in their linen bases.” Marston. [ 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 ]

n. 1. A game of ball, so called from the bases or bounds (four in number) which designate the circuit which each player must endeavor to make after striking the ball. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The ball used in this game. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) A board, or other woodwork, carried round the walls of a room and touching the floor, to form a base and protect the plastering; -- also called washboard (in England), mopboard, and scrubboard. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Born out of wedlock. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Born of low parentage. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Vile; mean. “Thy baseborn heart.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A furnace or stove in which the fuel is contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower stratum is consumed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. basse-cour. See Base, a., and Court, n. ] 1. The secondary, inferior, or rear courtyard of a large house; the outer court of a castle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) An inferior court of law, not of record. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. & a. 1. Having a base, or having as a base; supported; as, broad-based. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ See Base, n., 18-21. ] Wearing, or protected by, bases. [ Obs. ] “Based in lawny velvet.” E. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]