bass

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See also bas

Contents

English [edit]

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 Bass (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Etymology 1 [edit]

Italian basso (“low”), from Latin bassus (“low”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Adjective [edit]

bass (comparative more bass, superlative most bass)

  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]
low in pitch

Noun [edit]

bass (plural basses)

Examples (a bass voice singing a soprano part)
(file)
  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 tenor.
    The conductor preferred to situate the bass in the middle rear, rather than to one side of the orchestra.
  3. A male singer 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. 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]
low spectrum of sound
section of musical group
singer
musical instrument
clef sign

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.
    • 1623 [1610], William Shakespeare, The Tempest (First Folio ed.), 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

Etymology 2 [edit]

a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

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

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.
Usage notes [edit]

The plural bass refers to multiple fish of a single variety or species, whereas basses refers to multiple varieties or species.

Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
perch

See also [edit]

Luxembourgish [edit]

Verb [edit]

bass

  1. second-person singular present indicative of sinn

Norwegian [edit]

Noun [edit]

bass

  1. (music) bass; (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the base range)
  2. (music) a bass guitar

Romansch [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

  • (Vallader) bas

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
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