In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his familyâs pot filled with coffee.
BASE
base
(adjective) debased; not genuine; âan attempt to eliminate the base coinageâ
base, baseborn
(adjective) illegitimate
base, mean, meanspirited
(adjective) having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality; âthat liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabbleâ- Edmund Burke; âtaking a mean advantageâ; âchokâd with ambition of the meaner sortâ- Shakespeare; âsomething essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politicsâ
base, baseborn, humble, lowly
(adjective) of low birth or station (âbaseâ is archaic in this sense); âbaseborn wretches with dirty facesâ; âof humble (or lowly) birthâ
basal, base
(adjective) serving as or forming a base; âthe painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coatsâ
base, immoral
(adjective) not adhering to ethical or moral principles; âbase and unpatriotic motivesâ; âa base, degrading way of lifeâ; âcheating is dishonorableâ; âthey considered colonialism immoralâ; âunethical practices in handling public fundsâ
base
(adjective) (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; âbase coins of aluminumâ; âa base metalâ
base, pedestal, stand
(noun) a support or foundation; âthe base of the lampâ
base, bag
(noun) a place that the runner must touch before scoring; âhe scrambled to get back to the bagâ
base
(noun) (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
base, base of operations
(noun) installation from which a military force initiates operations; âthe attack wiped out our forward basesâ
base
(noun) a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; âa tub should sit on its own baseâ
base
(noun) the principal ingredient of a mixture; âglycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointmentsâ; âhe told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of greenâ; âeverything she cooked seemed to have rice as the baseâ
foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure
(noun) lowest support of a structure; âit was built on a base of solid rockâ; âhe stood at the foot of the towerâ
infrastructure, base
(noun) the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; âthe industrial base of Japanâ
basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone
(noun) the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; âthe whole argument rested on a basis of conjectureâ
root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical
(noun) (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; âthematic vowels are part of the stemâ
floor, base
(noun) a lower limit; âthe government established a wage floorâ
Qaeda, al-Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida, al Qaeda, al Qaida, Base
(noun) a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries
base, home
(noun) the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
base
(noun) (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; âthe base of the skullâ
base
(noun) the bottom or lowest part; âthe base of the mountainâ
base, radix
(noun) (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; â10 is the radix of the decimal systemâ
basis, base
(noun) the most important or necessary part of something; âthe basis of this drink is orange juiceâ
base
(noun) the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; âthe base of the triangleâ
base, alkali
(noun) any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; âbases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammoniaâ
nucleotide, base
(noun) a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
establish, base, ground, found
(verb) use as a basis for; found on; âbase a claim on some observationâ
base, free-base
(verb) use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
base
(verb) situate as a center of operations; âwe will base this project in the new labâ
BASIS
basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone
(noun) the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; âthe whole argument rested on a basis of conjectureâ
footing, basis, ground
(noun) a relation that provides the foundation for something; âthey were on a friendly footingâ; âhe worked on an interim basisâ
basis, base
(noun) the most important or necessary part of something; âthe basis of this drink is orange juiceâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Noun
BASE
Acronym of building, antenna-tower, span, earth.
Anagrams
• Abes, EABs, EBSA, baes
Etymology
Proper noun
Base
A surname.
Anagrams
• Abes, EABs, EBSA, baes
Etymology 1
Noun
base (plural bases)
Something from which other things extend; a foundation.
A supporting, lower or bottom component of a structure or object.
The starting point of a logical deduction or thought; basis.
A permanent structure for housing military personnel and material.
The place where decisions for an organization are made; headquarters.
(cooking, painting, pharmacy) A basic but essential component or ingredient.
A substance used as a mordant in dyeing.
(cosmetics) Foundation: a cosmetic cream to make the face appear uniform.
(chemistry) Any of a class of generally water-soluble compounds, having bitter taste, that turn red litmus blue, and react with acids to form salts.
Important areas in games and sports.
A safe zone in the children's games of tag and hide-and-go-seek.
(baseball) One of the four places that a runner can stand without being subject to being tagged out when the ball is in play.
(architecture) The lowermost part of a column, between the shaft and the pedestal or pavement.
(biology, biochemistry) A nucleotide's nucleobase in the context of a DNA or RNA biopolymer.
(botany) The end of a leaf, petal or similar organ where it is attached to its support.
(electronics) The name of the controlling terminal of a bipolar transistor (BJT).
(geometry) The lowest side of a in a triangle or other polygon, or the lowest face of a cone, pyramid or other polyhedron laid flat.
(heraldiccharge) The lowest third of a shield or escutcheon.
(heraldry) The lower part of the field. See escutcheon.
(mathematics) A number raised to the power of an exponent.
(mathematics) synonym of radix.
(topology) The set of sets from which a topology is generated.
(topology) A topological space, looked at in relation to one of its covering spaces, fibrations, or bundles.
(group theory) A sequence of elements not jointly stabilized by any nontrivial group element.
(acrobatics, cheerleading) In hand-to-hand balance, the person who supports the flyer; the person that remains in contact with the ground.
(linguistics) A morpheme (or morphemes) that serves as a basic foundation on which affixes can be attached.
(music) Dated form of bass.
(military, historical) The smallest kind of cannon.
(archaic) The housing of a horse.
(historical, in the plural) A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armour) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
(obsolete) The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
(obsolete) An apron.
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.
(politics) A group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office.
(Marxism) The forces and relations of production that produce the necessities and amenities of life.
A material that holds paint or other materials together; a binder.
(aviation) Short for base leg.
Synonyms
• (chemical compound that will neutralize an acid): alkali
Antonyms
• (chemical compound that will neutralize an alkali): acid
• (end of a leaf): apex
Hyponyms
• air base
• code base
• codebase
• debase
• first base
• freebase
• home base
• knowledge base
• moonbase
• naval base
• power base
• second base
• subbase
• surbase
• third base
Verb
base (third-person singular simple present bases, present participle basing, simple past and past participle based)
(transitive) To give as its foundation or starting point; to lay the foundation of.
(transitive) To be located (at a particular place).
(acrobatics, cheerleading) To act as a base; to be the person supporting the flyer.
Etymology 2
Adjective
base (comparative baser or more base, superlative basest or most base)
(obsolete) Low in height; short.
Low in place or position.
(obsolete) Of low value or degree.
(archaic) Of low social standing or rank; vulgar, common.
Morally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.
(now, rare) Inferior; unworthy, of poor quality.
Designating those metals which are not classed as precious or noble.
Alloyed with inferior metal; debased.
(obsolete) Of illegitimate birth; bastard.
Not classical or correct.
Obsolete form of bass.
(legal) Not held by honourable service.
Usage notes
• Said of fellows, motives, occupations, etc.
Synonyms
• (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)
Antonyms
• likeable
• desirable
• admirable
• noble
Etymology 3
Noun
base (uncountable)
(now, chiefly, US, historical) The game of prisoners' bars. [from 15th c.]
Etymology 4
Variant forms.
Noun
base
Alternative form of BASE
Anagrams
• Abes, EABs, EBSA, baes
Source: Wiktionary
Base, a. Etym: [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)
Definition: 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.
– 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.
Base, n. Etym: [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.)
Definition: That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.
5. (Chem.)
Definition: 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.
6. (Pharmacy)
Definition: The chief ingredient in a compound.
7. (Dyeing)
Definition: A substance used as a mordant. Ure.
8. (Fort.)
Definition: The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.
9. (Geom.)
Definition: The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.
10. (Math.)
Definition: The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.
11. Etym: [See Base low.]
Definition: 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.] The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. Dryden.
12. (Mil.)
Definition: 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.
13. (Mil.)
Definition: The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.]
14. (Zoöl.)
Definition: That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.
15. (Crystallog.)
Definition: The basal plane of a crystal.
16. (Geol.)
Definition: The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.
17. (Her.)
Definition: The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.
18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.]
19. pl.
Definition: 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.]
20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]
21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." Marston.
22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games. To their appointed base they went. Dryden.
23. (Surv.)
Definition: 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.
24. A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." Shak.
25. (Baseball)
Definition: Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield. 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 of 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.
Base, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] Etym: [From Base, n.]
Definition: 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.
Base, v. t. Etym: [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 Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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