bass

See also: Bass and Baß

English

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage) From Italian basso (“low”), from Latin bassus (“low”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪs
• enPR: bās, IPA^(key): /beɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: base

Adjective

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

low in pitch

• Bulgarian: басов (basov)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: basa (eo)
• Finnish: matala (fi), ala- (fi)
• French: bas (fr), grave (fr)
• German: bass (de)
• Greek: μπάσος (el) m (básos), ήχος χαμηλής κλίμακας m (íchos chamilís klímakas)
• Hawaiian: leo uō
• Hungarian: basszus (hu)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: basso (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: ベース (ja) (bēsu), バス (ja) (basu)
• Latin: bassus
• Maori: nguru
• Polish: basowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: grave (pt)
• Russian: ба́совый (ru) (básovyj)
• Spanish: bajo (es)
• Swedish: bas (sv)
• Tagalog: malagong
• Turkish: bas (tr)
• Welsh: bas (cy)

Noun

bass (plural basses) Template:examples-right

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

• (singer): basso
• (clef): F clef

Coordinate terms

• (voice types): soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (female); countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass (male)
• (music) SATB (Initialism of soprano, alto, tenor, bass.)

Derived terms

• acoustic bass guitar
• bass clef
• bass drum
• bass fiddle
• bass guitar
• bass viol
• bass violin
• bassline
• bass music
• bass note
• bassist

• booty bass
• double bass
• electric bass
• figured bass
• Miami bass
• stand-up bass
• string bass
• tea chest bass
• upright bass
• washtub bass

Translations

low spectrum of sound

• Bulgarian: бас (bg) (bas)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低音 (zh) (dīyīn)

• Crimean Tatar: bas
• Dutch: bas (nl) m or f
• Finnish: basso (fi)
• French: basse (fr) f
• German: Bass (de) m, Baß (de) m (older spelling)
• Greek: μπάσος (el) m (básos), μπάσα (el) f (bása), μπάσο (el) n (báso)
• Hungarian: basszus (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: ベース (ja) (bēsu)
• Maori: reo nguru
• Polish: bas (pl) m
• Portuguese: baixo (pt) m
• Russian: бас (ru) m (bas)
• Slovene: bas (sl) m
• Spanish: bajo (es) m
• Swedish: bas (sv) c
• Welsh: bas (cy) m
• Yiddish: באַס m (bas)

section of musical group

• Bulgarian: бас (bg) (bas)
• Crimean Tatar: bas
• Dutch: bas (nl) m or f
• Finnish: basso (fi)
• German: Bass (de) m, Baß (de) m (older spelling)
• Greek: μπάσο (el) n (báso)
• Hungarian: basszus (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: باس (fa) (bâs)
• Portuguese: baixo (pt) m
• Russian: бас (ru) m (bas)
• Slovene: bas (sl) m
• Tagalog: lagong
• Welsh: bas (cy) m

singer

• Bulgarian: бас (bg) (bas)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男低音 (zh) (nándīyīn), 低音 (zh) (dīyīn)

• Crimean Tatar: bas
• Dutch: bas (nl) m
• Finnish: basso (fi)
• French: basse (fr) f
• Georgian: ბანი (bani)
• German: Bass (de) m, Baß (de) m (older spelling)
• Greek: βαρύτονος (el) m (varýtonos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: basszus (hu)
• Italian: basso (it) m
• Japanese: バス (ja) (basu)
• Portuguese: baixo (pt) m
• Russian: бас (ru) m (bas)
• Slovene: bas (sl) m
• Spanish: bajo (es) m
• Swedish: bas (sv) c
• Welsh: bas (cy) m
• Yiddish: באַס m (bas)

musical instrument

• Arabic: غيتار البيس
• Bulgarian: бас (bg) (bas)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貝斯／贝斯 (zh) (bèisī), 贝斯 (zh) (bèisī)

• Crimean Tatar: bas
• Czech: basa (cs) f
• Dutch: basgitaar (nl) m or f, bas (nl) m or f
• Finnish: basso (fi)
• French: basse (fr) f
• German: Bass (de) m, Baß (de) m (older spelling)
• Greek: μπάσο (el) n (báso)
• Hungarian: basszusgitár (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: basso (it) m
• Japanese: ベース (ja) (bēsu)
• Persian: گیتار بیس
• Polish: bas (pl) m
• Portuguese: baixo (pt) m, baixo (pt) m
• Russian: бас (ru) m (bas)
• Slovene: bas (sl) m
• Spanish: bajo (es) m
• Swedish: bas (sv) c
• Vietnamese: ghi-ta bass
• Welsh: bas (cy) m

clef sign

• Finnish: bassoavain (fi)
• German: Baßschlüssel (de) m, Bassschlüssel (de) m
• Hungarian: basszuskulcs (hu)
• Italian: chiave di basso f, chiave di fa f
• Polish: klucz basowy m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: clave de fá (pt) f
• Russian: ба́совый ключ m (básovyj ključ)
• Slovene: bas (sl) m
• Welsh: bas (cy) m

Verb

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

Translations

to sound in a deep tone

• Finnish: jyristä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Etymology 2

a smallmouth bass ()

From Middle English bace, 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 (“perch, bass”), German Barsch (“perch”). More at barse.

Pronunciation

• enPR: băs, IPA^(key): /bæs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

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

• black bass (Micropterus spp.)
• largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
• sea bass

• smallmouth bass ()
• spotted bass ()
• striped bass ()
• white bass ()

Translations

perch

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: պերկես (hy) (perkes)
• Belarusian: аку́нь m (akúnʹ), во́кунь m (vókunʹ)
• Bulgarian: ко́стур (bg) m (kóstur)
• Cherokee: ᎤᏃᎦ (unoga)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鱸魚／鲈鱼 (zh) (lúyú), 鲈鱼 (zh) (lúyú)

• Dutch: baars (nl) m
• Finnish: bassi (fi); ahvenkala (fi)
• French: perche (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Barsch (de) m
• Greek: πέρκα (el) f (pérka)

  Ancient: λάβραξ m (lábrax)

• Hungarian: sügér (hu)
• Indonesian: kakap (id)
• Italian: branzino (it) m, spigola (it) m
• Latvian: asaris (lv)
• Laz: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Lithuanian: ešerys
• Maori: moeone, ngutoro
• Norwegian: bass (no)
• Polish: okoń (pl) m
• Portuguese: perca (pt) f
• Romanian: biban (ro) m
• Russian: о́кунь (ru) m (ókunʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гргеч m

  Roman: grgeč (sh) m

• Slovak: okúň m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wokuń m, wótšawa f

• Spanish: róbalo m, lubina f, (freshwater) perca f
• Swedish: abborre (sv) c
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: о́кунь (uk) m (ókunʹ)
• Welsh: draenogiad y môr m

Etymology 3

A corruption of bast.

Pronunciation

• enPR: băs, IPA^(key): /bæs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

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.
   • 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

• basswood

See also

• Template:projectlink

Anagrams

• BSAs, SABS, sabs

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Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German vaz, from Old High German faz, from Proto-Germanic *fatą (“vessel, container”). Cognate with German Fass, Dutch vat, English vat, Icelandic fat.

Noun

bass n (plural bèssar, diminutive bèssle)

1. (Sette Comuni) vat, tub

   De baibar habent gabèsset au an bass gaplèttarakh.

   The women washed a tub of clothing.

   De lòite, amme bintare, habent galét dehiin an bèssle kapützen.

   In the winter, the people prepared a vat of sauerkraut.

Declension

Declension of bass – 3rd declension

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	an	's	bass	de	bèssar
accusative	an	's	bass	de	bèssar
dative	aname	me	basse	in	bèssarn

References

• “bass” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

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German

Etymology

Former comparative of wohl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bas]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

bass (not comparable)

1. greatly

Usage notes

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

Further reading

• “bass” in Duden online

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Latvian

Etymology

From Italian [Term?]

Noun

bass m (1st declension)

1. bass

Adjective

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

1. bare, unshod (of feet: without shoes, socks or other coverings)

   staigāt basām kājām ― to walk barefoot, to walk with bare feet

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of bass

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	bass	basi		basa	basas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	basu	basus		basu	basas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	basa	basu		basas	basu
dative (datīvs)	basam	basiem		basai	basām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	basu	basiem		basu	basām
locative (lokatīvs)	basā	basos		basā	basās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Synonyms

• kails

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Luxembourgish

Verb

bass

1. second-person singular present indicative of sinn

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Middle English

Adjective

bass

1. Alternative form of bas

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso

Noun

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

• kontrabass
• snurrebass

References

• “bass” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso

Noun

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

• kontrabass
• snurrebass

References

• “bass” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Vallader) bas

Etymology

From Late Latin bassus.

Adjective

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

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