bass

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

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

• Audio (US)

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• Homophone: base

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.

bass (plural basses)

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. 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. (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.

• (singer): basso
• (clef): F clef

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

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

a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

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.

• enPR: băs, IPA^(key): /bæs/

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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.

A corruption of bast.

• enPR: băs, IPA^(key): /bæs/

• Audio (US)

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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.

• basswood

• bass on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• BSAs, SABS, sabs

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.

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.

• “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

Former comparative of wohl

• IPA^(key): [bas]

• Audio

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bass (not comparable)

1. greatly

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

• bass in Duden online

From Italian [Term?]

bass m (1st declension)

1. bass

bass (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

• kails

bass

1. second-person singular present indicative of sinn

bass

1. Alternative form of bas

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso

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)

• kontrabass
• snurrebass

• “bass” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin bassus, via Italian basso

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)

• kontrabass
• snurrebass

• “bass” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• (Vallader) bas

From Late Latin bassus.

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

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