Base

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (n.) The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.

(2): (n.) 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.

(3): (n.) The lower part of a robe or petticoat.

(4): (n.) The housing of a horse.

(5): (n.) 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.

(6): (a.) Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs.

(7): (n.) The basal plane of a crystal.

(8): (n.) That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.

(9): (n.) The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.

(10): (n.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.

(11): (n.) The smallest kind of cannon.

(12): (n.) 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): (n.) A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.

(14): (n.) The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.

(15): (n.) The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.

(16): (n.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.

(17): (n.) A substance used as a mordant.

(18): (n.) The chief ingredient in a compound.

(19): (n.) 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.

(20): (n.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.

(21): (n.) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration.

(22): (n.) An apron.

(23): (n.) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.

(24): (n.) Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.

(25): (n.) The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue.

(26): (a.) Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean.

(27): (a.) 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.

(28): (a.) Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin.

(29): (a.) Not classical or correct.

(30): (a.) Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations.

(31): (a.) Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.

(32): (a.) Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.

(33): (a.) Illegitimate by birth; bastard.

(34): (a.) Low in place or position.

(35): (n.) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.

(36): (a.) To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower.

(37): (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.

(38): (n.) A rustic play; - called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars.

(39): (a.) To reduce the value of; to debase.

King James Dictionary

BASE, a.

1. Low in place. Obs. 2. Mean vile worthless that is, low in value or estimation used of things. 3. Of low station of mean account without rank, dignity or estimation among men used of persons.

The base shall behave proudly against the honorable. Is.iii.

4. Of mean spirit disingenuous illiberal low without dignity of sentiment as a base and abject multitude. 5. Of little comparative value applied to metals, and perhaps to all metals, except gold and silver. 6. Deep grave applied to sounds as the base sounds of a viol. 7. Of illegitimate birth born out of wedlock. 8. Not held by honorable tenure. A base estate is an estate held by services not honorable,not in capite, or by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.

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Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.

BASE, n. L. basis that which is set, the foundation or bottom.

1. The bottom of any thing, considered as its support or the part of a thing on which it stands or rests as the base of a column, the pedestal of a statue, the foundation of a house,&c.

In architecture, the base of a pillar properly is that part which is between the top of a pedestal and the bottom of the shaft but when there is no pedestal, it is the part between the bottom of the column and the plinth. Usually it consists of certain spires or circles. The pedestal also has its base.

2. In fortification, the exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which is drawn from the flanked angle of a bastion to the angle opposite to it. 3. In gunnery, the least sort of ordnance, the diameter of whose bore  Isaiah 50:1/4 inch. 4. The part of any ornament which hangs down, as housings. 5. The broad part of any thing, as the bottom of a cone. 6. In old authors, stockings armor for the legs. 7. The place from which racers or tilters start the bottom of the field the carcer or starting post. 8. The lowest or gravest part in music improperly written bass. 9. A rustic play, called also bays, or prison bars. 10. In geometry, the lowest side of the perimeter of a figure. Any side of a triangle may be called its base, but this term most properly belongs to the side which is parallel to the horizon. In rectangled triangles, the base, properly, is the side opposite to the right angle. The base of a solid figure is that on which it stands. The base of a conic section is a right line in the hyperbola and parabola, arising from the common intersection of the secant plane and the base of the cone. 11. In chimistry, any body which is dissolved by another body, which it receives and fixes. Thus any alkaline, earthy or metallic substance, combining with an acid, forms a compound or neutral salt, of which it is the base. Such salts are called salts with alkaline, earthy or metallic bases. 12. Thorough base, in music, is the part performed with base viols or theorbos, while the voices sing and other instruments perform their parts, or during the intervals when the other parts stop. It is distinguished by figures over the notes.

Counter base is a second or double base, when there are several in the same concert.

BASE, To embase to reduce the value by the admixture of meaner metals. Little used.

2. To found to lay the base or foundation.

To base and build the commonwealth of man.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

BASE . To be base is in mod. English to be morally bad, but in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] it is no more than to be of humble birth or lowly position. In the RV [Note: Revised Version.] , however, the word is sometimes used in the sense of morally low, mean, as   Deuteronomy 13:13 .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bās  :

(1) Substantive from Latin basis , Greek βάσις , básis , a foundation. ( a ) (מכונה , mekhōnāh ): the fixed resting-place on which the lavers in Solomon's temple were set (1 Ki 7:27-43;  2 Kings 16:17;  2 Kings 25:13 ,  2 Kings 25:16;  2 Chronicles 4:14;  Jeremiah 27:19;  Jeremiah 52:17 ,  Jeremiah 52:20; compare  Ezra 3:3;  Zechariah 5:11 the American Revised Version, margin). ( b ) (כּן , kēn ): pedestal in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) ( 1 Kings 7:29 ,  1 Kings 7:31 ) and in the Revised Version (British and American) only ( Exodus 30:18 ,  Exodus 30:28;  Exodus 31:9;  Exodus 35:16;  Exodus 38:8;  Exodus 39:39;  Exodus 40:11;  Leviticus 8:11 ) of the base of the laver of the tabernacle (the King James Version "foot"). ( c ) (ירך , yārēkh ): "base of candlestick" (the Revised Version (British and American) of  Exodus 25:31;  Exodus 37:17 ) the King James Version "shaft." ( d ) (יסוד , yeṣōdh ): the Revised Version (British and American) "base of altar"; the King James Version "bottom" ( Exodus 29:12;  Exodus 38:8;  Leviticus 4:7 ,  Leviticus 4:18 ,  Leviticus 4:25 ,  Leviticus 4:30 ,  Leviticus 4:34;  Leviticus 5:9;  Leviticus 8:15;  Leviticus 9:9 ). ( e ) (גּב , gabh ): the Revised Version (British and American) "elevation," i.e. basement of altar; the King James Version "higher place" ( Ezekiel 43:13 ).

(2) Adjective from French bas - low, or Welsh bâs - "shallow": of lowly birth or station, of voluntary humility and of moral depravity. ( a ) (שׁפל , shāphāl , שפל , shephal ): of David's self-humiliation ( 2 Samuel 6:22 ): "a modest unambitious kingdom" ( Ezekiel 17:14;  Ezekiel 29:14 ,  Ezekiel 29:15 ( BDB );  Daniel 4:17 (the American Standard Revised Version "lowest")): compare shephēlāh = "lowland." ( b ) (קלה , ḳālāh ): men of humble birth and station as opposed to the nobles ( Isaiah 3:5 ). ( c ) (בּלי־שׁם , b e lı̄ - shēm ): "nameless," "of no account": "children of fools, yea, children of base men" ( Job 30:8 ). ( d ) The King James Version men, sons, daughters, children of Belial; literally "worthless persons"; in the American Standard Revised Version "base," except  1 Samuel 1:16 "wicked woman"; also the English Revised Version of   Deuteronomy 13:13 , "base," which elsewhere retains the King James Version rendering. ( e ) (ταπεινός , tapeinós ): "lowly," "humble or abject" ( 2 Corinthians 10:1 ); the Revised Version (British and American), "lowly"; so Paul's enemies said he appeared when present in the church at Corinth. ( f ) (ἀγενής , agenḗs ): "of low birth," "of no account" ( 1 Corinthians 1:28 ): "base things of the world." ( g ) (ἀγοραῖος , agoraı́os ): "belonging to the market-place," loafers, worthless characters ( Acts 17:5 ): "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort"; the Revised Version (British and American) "certain vile fellows of the rabble."

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(as a noun) is the rendering in the Auth. Vers. of two Hebrews words:

1. כֵּן , Ken, the foundation or Pedestal, e.g. of the laver (q.v.) in the temple- court ("foot,"  Exodus 30:18, etc.); then, the "base over the ledges" ( שְׁלִבַּם , Joints ) of the brazen sea (q.v.), in  1 Kings 7:29, apparently explained in  1 Kings 7:31 as a "work' of the base" ( מִעֲשֵׂהאּכֵן ), perhaps a Pediment-Like Cornice covering the joints; but the whole description is exceedingly obscure. (See Ledge).

2. מְכוֹנָה Mekonah', or מְכוּנָה , Mekunah', a foot-piece or Stand upon which to place the lavers in the temple-service ( 1 Kings 7:27-43, etc.). (See Laver).