abase definition | Dictionary.com

a⋅base

[uh-beys]

–verb (used with object), a⋅based, a⋅bas⋅ing.

1.	to reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade.

2.	Archaic, to lower; put or bring down: He abased his head.

Origin:
1470–80; a- ⁵ + base ² ; r. late ME abassen, equiv. to a- ⁵ + bas base ² ; r. ME abaissen, abe(i)sen < AF abesser, abaisser, OF abaissier, equiv. + a- a- ⁵ + -baissier < VL *bassiare, v. deriv. of LL bassus; see base ²

Related forms:

a⋅base⋅ment, noun

a⋅bas⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. humiliate, dishonor, defame, belittle.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To abase

a·base (ə-bās')

tr.v. a·based, a·bas·ing, a·bas·es
To lower in rank, prestige, or esteem. See Synonyms at degrade.

[Middle English abassen, from Old French abaissier : Latin ad-, ad- + Vulgar Latin *bassiāre (from Medieval Latin bassus, low).]
a·base'ment n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Abase

A*base"\ ([.a]*b[=a]s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abased ([.a]*b[=a]st"); p. pr. & vb. n. Abasing.] [F. abaisser, LL. abassare, abbassare; ad + bassare, fr. bassus low. See Base, a.]

1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down; as, to abase the eye. [Archaic] --Bacon.

Saying so, he abased his lance. --Shelton.

2. To cast down or reduce low or lower, as in rank, office, condition in life, or estimation of worthiness; to depress; to humble; to degrade.

Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. --Luke xiv. ll.

Syn: To Abase, Debase, Degrade. These words agree in the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in condition or feelings; as, to abase the proud, to abase one's self before God. Debase has reference to the bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base. It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense, as, to debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing down from some higher grade or from some standard. Thus, a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in character and just estimation; as, degraded by intemperance, a degrading employment, etc. "Art is degraded when it is regarded only as a trade."

abase

1393, abaishen, from O.Fr. à bassier "make lower," from V.L. *ad bassiare "bring lower," from L.L. bassus "thick, fat, low;" from the same source as base (adj.) and altered in Eng. by influence of it, which made it an exception to the rule that O.Fr. verbs with stem -iss- enter Eng. as -ish.

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