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baseness

 [beys]   Origin

base

2   [beys] adjective, bas·er, bas·est, noun
adjective
1.
morally low; without estimable personal qualities; dishonorable; meanspirited; selfish; cowardly.
2.
of little or no value; worthless: hastily composed of base materials.
3.
debased or counterfeit: an attempt to eliminate the base coinage.
4.
characteristic of or befitting an inferior person or thing.
5.
of illegitimate birth.
EXPAND
6.
not classical or refined: base language.
7.
Old English Law. held by tenure less than freehold in return for a service viewed as somewhat demeaning to the tenant.
8.
Archaic.
a.
of humble origin or station.
b.
of small height.
c.
low in place, position, or degree: base servitude.
9.
Obsolete. deep or grave in sound; bass: the base tones of a piano.
COLLAPSE
noun
10.
Music Obsolete. bass1 (defs. 3, 4).

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Baseness is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English bas < Old French < Late Latin bassus low, short, perhaps of Oscan orig.

Related forms
base·ly, adverb
base·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. despicable, contemptible. See mean2. 2. poor, inferior, cheap, tawdry. 3. fake, spurious. 4. servile, ignoble, abject, slavish, menial.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
base2 (beɪs)
 
—adj
1.  devoid of honour or morality; ignoble; contemptible
2.  of inferior quality or value
3.  debased; alloyed; counterfeit: base currency
4.  English history
 a.  (of land tenure) held by villein or other ignoble service
 b.  holding land by villein or other ignoble service
5.  archaic born of humble parents; plebeian
6.  archaic illegitimate
 
—adj, —n
7.  music an obsolete spelling of bass
 
[C14: from Old French bas, from Late Latin bassus of low height, perhaps from Greek bassōn deeper]
 
'basely2
 
—adv
 
'baseness2
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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