bass

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See also: Bass and Baß

English[edit]

 Bass (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Etymology 1[edit]

A respelling of base under the influence of Italian basso (low).

Alternative forms[edit]

  • (noun): base (dated)

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

bass (comparative basser, superlative bassest)

  1. Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency.
    The giant spoke in a deep, bass, rumbling voice that shook me to my boots.
Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

bass (plural basses)

Examples (a bass voice singing a soprano part)
(file)
body of a bass guitar [4]
  1. A low spectrum of sound tones.
    Peter adjusted the equalizer on his audio equipment to emphasize the bass.
  2. A section of musical group that produces low-pitched sound, lower than the baritone and tenor.
    The conductor preferred to situate the bass in the middle rear, rather than to one side of the orchestra.
  3. One who sings in the bass range.
    Halfway through middle school, Edgar morphed from a soprano to a bass, much to the amazement and amusement of his fellow choristers.
  4. (music) An instrument that plays in the bass range, in particular a double bass, bass guitar, electric bass or bass synthesiser.
    The musician swung the bass over his head like an axe and smashed it into the amplifier, creating a discordant howl of noise.
  5. The clef sign that indicates that the pitch of the notes is below middle C; a bass clef.
    The score had been written without the treble and bass, but it was easy to pick out which was which based on the location of the notes on the staff.
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

bass (third-person singular simple present basses, present participle bassing, simple past and past participle bassed)

  1. To sound in a deep tone.
    • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], lines 99-99:
      [] and the Thunder
      (That deepe and dreadfull Organ-Pipe) pronounc'd
      The name of Proſper : it did baſe my Treſpaſſe
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

From Middle English bace, bas, alteration of bars, from Old English bærs (a fish, perch), from Proto-West Germanic *bars, from Proto-Germanic *barsaz (perch, literally prickly), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰórsos (prickle, thorn, scale). Cognate with Dutch baars (perch, bass), German Barsch (perch). More at barse.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bass (countable and uncountable, plural basses or bass)

  1. The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

A corruption of bast.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bass (countable and uncountable, plural basses)

  1. The fibrous inner bark of the linden or lime tree, used for making mats.
  2. Fibers from other plants, especially palm trees
  3. Anything made from such fibers, such as a hassock, basket or thick mat.
    • [1865, William Stott Banks, A List of Provincial Words in use at Wakefield in Yorkshire, Wakefield: J.R.Smith, page 6:
      BASS, 1, a door mat]
    • 1982 [1980], J L Carr, A Month in the Country, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books/Harvester Press, →ISBN, page 2:
      I set off half-heartedly, as best I could sheltering my spare clothes (which were in the straw fish-bass) under my coat. […] The rain made a channel from my trilby down my neck and one handle of the fish-bass gave way.
Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Cimbrian[edit]

Noun[edit]

bass n (plural bèssardiminutive bèssle)

  1. (Mezzaselva) Alternative form of vass

Declension[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Former comparative of wohl.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

bass (strong nominative masculine singular basser, not comparable)

  1. greatly

Usage notes[edit]

This word is primarily used in the collocations bass erstaunt/basses Erstaunen.

Declension[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • bass” in Duden online
  • bass” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Kwama[edit]

Noun[edit]

bass

  1. milk

References[edit]

  • Goldberg, Justin; Asadik, Habte; Bekama, Jiregna; Mengistu, Mulat (2016) Gwama – English Dictionary[1], SIL International

Latvian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Italian basso.

Noun[edit]

bass m (1st declension)

  1. bass

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *basás, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰosós. Cognate with Lithuanian basas, Russian босо́й (bosój), English bare.

Adjective[edit]

bass (definite basais, comparative basāks, superlative visbasākais, adverb basi)

  1. bare, unshod (of feet: without shoes, socks or other coverings)
    staigāt basām kājāmto walk barefoot, to walk with bare feet
Declension[edit]
Synonyms[edit]

Lombard[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Akin to Italian basso, from Late Latin bassus.

Adjective[edit]

bass

  1. low

Luxembourgish[edit]

Verb[edit]

bass

  1. second-person singular present indicative of sinn

Maltese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Root
b-s-s
2 terms

Inherited from dialectal Arabic; compare Tunisian Arabic بص (baṣṣ, to fart).

Verb[edit]

bass (imperfect jboss, verbal noun bass)

  1. to fart loudly
  2. to boo (someone)
Conjugation[edit]
    Conjugation of bass
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m bassejt bassejt bass bassejna bassejtu bassew
f basset
imperfect m nboss tboss jboss nbossu tbossu jbossu
f tboss
imperative boss bossu

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from English bus.

Noun[edit]

bass m (plural bassis)

  1. bus

Etymology 3[edit]

Adverb[edit]

bass

  1. (obsolete) Alternative form of biss

Middle English[edit]

Adjective[edit]

bass

  1. Alternative form of bas

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso.

Noun[edit]

bass m (definite singular bassen, indefinite plural basser, definite plural bassene)

  1. (music) bass (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the base range)
  2. (music) short for bassgitar (bass guitar) or kontrabass (double bass)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso.

Noun[edit]

bass m (definite singular bassen, indefinite plural bassar, definite plural bassane)

  1. (music) bass (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the base range)
  2. (music) short for bassgitar (bass guitar) or kontrabass (double bass)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Romansch[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Late Latin bassus.

Adjective[edit]

bass m (f bassa, m pl bass, f pl bassas)

  1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader) deep, low