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base line

 [beys-lahyn]   Origin

base·line

   [beys-lahyn]
noun Also, base line.
1.
Baseball. the area between bases within which a base runner must keep when running from one base to another.
2.
Tennis. the line at each end of a tennis court, parallel to the net, that marks the in-bounds limit of play.
3.
(in perspective drawing) a horizontal line in the immediate foreground formed by the intersection of the ground plane and the picture plane.
4.
a basic standard or level; guideline: to establish a baseline for future studies.
5.
a specific value or values that can serve as a comparison or control.
EXPAND
6.
Typography. the imaginary line on which the bottoms of primary letters align.
7.
Surveying. See under triangulation (def. 1).
8.
Electronics. a horizontal or vertical line formed on the face of a cathode-ray tube by the sweep of the scanning dot.
9.
Naval Architecture. a line on the body plan or sheer plan of a hull, representing a horizontal reference plane for vertical dimensions.
COLLAPSE
adjective
10.
basic or essential.

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Base line is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1740–50; base1 + line1
Dictionary.com Unabridged

base

1   [beys] noun, adjective, verb, based, bas·ing.
noun
1.
the bottom support of anything; that on which a thing stands or rests: a metal base for the table.
2.
a fundamental principle or groundwork; foundation; basis: the base of needed reforms.
3.
the bottom layer or coating, as of makeup or paint.
4.
Architecture.
a.
the distinctively treated portion of a column or pier below the shaft or shafts.
b.
the distinctively treated lowermost portion of any construction, as a monument, exterior wall, etc.
5.
Botany, Zoology.
a.
the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment.
b.
the point of attachment.
EXPAND
6.
the principal element or ingredient of anything, considered as its fundamental part: face cream with a lanolin base; paint with a lead base.
7.
that from which a commencement, as of action or reckoning, is made; a starting point or point of departure.
8.
Baseball.
a.
any of the four corners of the diamond, especially first, second, or third base. Compare home plate.
b.
a square canvas sack containing sawdust or some other light material, for marking first, second, or third base.
9.
a starting line or point for runners, racing cars, etc.
10.
(in hockey and other games) the goal.
11.
Military.
a.
a fortified or more or less protected area or place from which the operations of an army or an air force proceed.
b.
a supply installation for a large military force.
12.
Geometry. the line or surface forming the part of a figure that is most nearly horizontal or on which it is supposed to stand.
13.
Mathematics.
a.
the number that serves as a starting point for a logarithmic or other numerical system.
b.
a collection of subsets of a topological space having the property that every open set in the given topology can be written as the union of sets of the collection.
c.
a collection of neighborhoods of a point such that every neighborhood of the point contains one from the collection.
d.
a collection of sets of a given filter such that every set in the filter is contained in some set in the collection.
14.
Also called base line. Surveying. See under triangulation (def. 1).
15.
Painting.
a.
vehicle (def. 10).
b.
Also called carrier. inert matter, used in the preparation of lakes, onto which a coloring compound is precipitated.
16.
Photography. a thin, flexible layer of cellulose triacetate or similar material that holds the light-sensitive film emulsion and other coatings, especially on motion-picture film.
17.
Chemistry.
a.
a compound that reacts with an acid to form a salt, as ammonia, calcium hydroxide, or certain nitrogen-containing organic compounds.
b.
the hydroxide of a metal or of an electropositive element or group.
c.
a group or molecule that takes up or accepts protons.
d.
a molecule or ion containing an atom with a free pair of electrons that can be donated to an acid; an electron-pair donor.
e.
any of the purine and pyrimidine compounds found in nucleic acids: the purines adenine and guanine and the pyrimidines cytosine, thymine, and uracil.
18.
Grammar. the part of a complex word, consisting of one or more morphemes, to which derivational or inflectional affixes may be added, as want in unwanted or biolog- in biological. Compare root1 (def. 12), stem1 (def. 16).
19.
Linguistics. the component of a generative grammar containing the lexicon and phrase-structure rules that generate the deep structure of sentences.
20.
Electronics.
a.
an electrode or terminal on a transistor other than the emitter or collector electrodes or terminals.
b.
the part of an incandescent lamp or electron tube that includes the terminals for making electrical connection to a circuit or power supply.
21.
Stock Exchange. the level at which a security ceases a decline in price.
22.
Heraldry. the lower part of an escutcheon.
23.
bases, Armor. a tonlet formed of two shaped steel plates assembled side by side.
24.
Jewelry. pavilion (def. 6).
25.
in base, Heraldry. in the lower part of an escutcheon.
COLLAPSE
adjective
26.
serving as or forming a base: The walls will need a base coat and two finishing coats.
verb (used with object)
27.
to make or form a base or foundation for.
28.
to establish, as a fact or conclusion (usually followed by on or upon): He based his assumption of her guilt on the fact that she had no alibi.
29.
to place or establish on a base or basis; ground; found (usually followed by on or upon): Our plan is based on a rising economy.
30.
to station, place, or situate (usually followed by at or on): He is based at Fort Benning. The squadron is based on a carrier.
verb (used without object)
31.
to have a basis; be based (usually followed by on or upon): Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.
32.
to have or maintain a base: I believe they had based on Greenland at one time.
Idioms
33.
get to first base. first base (def. 2).
34.
off base,
a.
Baseball. not touching a base: The pitcher caught him off base and, after a quick throw, he was put out by the second baseman.
b.
Informal. badly mistaken: The police were way off base when they tried to accuse her of the theft.
35.
on base, Baseball. having reached a base or bases: Two men are on base.
36.
touch base with, to make contact with: They've touched base with every political group on campus.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English (noun) < Middle French < Latin basis basis; compare prisoner's base

Related forms
un·based, adjective
well-based, adjective

Synonyms
1. Base, basis, foundation refer to anything upon which a structure is built and upon which it rests. Base usually refers to a literal supporting structure: the base of a statue. Basis more often refers to a figurative support: the basis of a report. Foundation implies a solid, secure understructure: the foundation of a skyscraper or a rumor.

tri·an·gu·la·tion

   [trahy-ang-gyuh-ley-shuhn]
noun Surveying, Navigation.
1.
a technique for establishing the distance between any two points, or the relative position of two or more points, by using such points as vertices of a triangle or series of triangles, such that each triangle has a side of known or measurable length (base or base line) that permits the size of the angles of the triangle and the length of its other two sides to be established by observations taken either upon or from the two ends of the base line.
2.
the triangles thus formed and measured.
Origin:
1810–20; < Medieval Latin triangulātiōn- (stem of triangulātiō) the making of triangles. See triangulate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To base line
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

base
late 14c., from O.Fr. bas (Mod.Fr. bas) "low, lowly, mean," from L.L. bassus "thick, stumpy, low" (used only as a cognomen in classical Latin, humilis being there the usual word for "low in stature or position"), possibly from Oscan, or Celtic, or related to Gk. basson, comparative of bathys "deep."
EXPAND
Figurative sense of "low in the moral scale" is first attested 1530s in English, earlier "servile" (1520s). Base metals (c.1600) were worthless in contrast to noble or precious metals.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

base (bās)
n.

  1. The part of an organ nearest its point of attachment.

  2. A fundamental ingredient; a chief constituent of a mixture.

  3. Any of a large class of compounds, including the hydroxides and oxides of metals, having a bitter taste, a slippery solution, the capacity to turn litmus blue, and to react with acids to form salts.

  4. A molecular or ionic substance capable of combining with a proton to form a new substance. Also called Brønsted base.

  5. A nitrogen-containing organic compound that combines in such a manner.

  6. A substance that provides a pair of electrons for a covalent bond with an acid.

base line n.

  1. A line corresponding to the base of the skull, passing from the infraorbital ridge to the midline of the occiput, through the ear canal.

  2. A line serving as a basis, as for measurement or calculation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
base   (bās)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. Chemistry

    1. Any of a class of compounds that form hydroxyl ions (OH) when dissolved in water, and whose aqueous solutions react with acids to form salts. Bases turn red litmus paper blue and have a pH greater than 7. Their aqueous solutions have a bitter taste. Compare acid.

    2. See nitrogen base.

    3. The side or face of a geometric figure to which an altitude is or is thought to be drawn. The base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.

    4. The number that is raised to various powers to generate the principal counting units of a number system. The base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.

    5. The number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. In the expression an, a is the base.

  2. Mathematics

    1. The side or face of a geometric figure to which an altitude is or is thought to be drawn. The base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.

    2. The number that is raised to various powers to generate the principal counting units of a number system. The base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.

    3. The number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. In the expression an, a is the base.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

base definition


Any of a number of bitter-tasting, caustic materials. Technically, a material that produces negative ions in solution. A base is the opposite of an acid and has a pH of 7 to 14. A given amount of a base added to the same amount of an acid neutralizes the acid; water and a salt are produced. Alkalis are bases; ammonia is a common base.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

base definition


  1. mod.
    rude; gross. (California.) : You are so, like, base!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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