bassn.1
/bas/, U.S. /bæs/ 1.
a. The Common Perch ( Perca fluviatilis), or an allied freshwater species.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > perca fluviatilis (common perch)
bassc1000
perch1381
basec1425
river perch1574
bast1676
Welshman1709
barse1753
grunt1851
redfin1946
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. /180 Lupus, uel scardo, bærs.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 20 Bace, fysche.
1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health clxxviii. 143 Roche, Loche, Base, Smelt, are verie wholsom fishes.
1801 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) III. 140 Trout and perch, called by the Dutch name of barsch, or bass.
1866 Intellectual Observer No. 56. 101 Sticklebacks, perches, basses.
b. black bass n. a fish of the Perch family ( Perca huro) found in Lake Huron.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > perca huro (sea-bass)
sea bass1765
green bass1820
black bass1840
growler1880
1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 432/1 The Black Bass.. one of best-flavoured fishes of that lake.
1881 Harper's Mag. Sept. 511 The much-prized black bass.
2. A voracious marine fish ( Labrax lupus) of the Perch family, common in European seas; called also Sea-wolf and Sea-dace. Also an allied species (Sea bass) caught on the coasts of North America.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Serranidae (sea-bass) > [noun] > member of genus Centropristis (black sea-bass)
bass1530
blackfish1765
sea bass1765
black perch1836
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Sciaenidae (drums) > [noun] > member of genus Cynoscion (squeteague)
bass1530
trout1604
weakfish1686
sea bass1765
corvina1787
salmon1798
sheep's head1836
squeteague1838
grey trout1856
white trout1861
roncador1867
shad-trout1884
squit1884
bastard trout1888
wheat-fish1888
yellowfin1888
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Sciaenidae (drums) > [noun] > genus Sciaena > sciaena ocellata (red drum)
bass1530
drummer1615
drum1649
red drum1709
drummer fish1725
red fish1763
red sciaena1803
red bass1837
spot1864
school bass1869
channel bass1873
spotfish1875
masooka1884
red horse1884
red1958
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Labrioidei (wrasse) > [noun] > family Labridae > genus Labrax > labrax lupus (sea-wolf)
sea-wolf1390
bass1530
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 196/1 Bace, fysshe, ung bar.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall ii. f. 106v Sucking Millet, swallowing Basse.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Lubin, a base, or sea wolfe.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia vi. 237 There hath beene taken one thousand Bases at a draught.
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 213 The basse is a strong, active, and voracious fish.
1852 C. Kingsley Andromeda 394 Chasing the bass and the mullet.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
bassn.2
/bɑːs//bas/ 1.
a. strictly. The inner bark of the lime or linden; sometimes applied loosely to any similar fibre, e.g. split rushes or straw.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > bark > [noun] > other bark
basteOE
bass1676
bonace bark1756
paperbarkc1837
stringy-bark1848
pottery bark1866
Adansonia1887
1676 J. Worlidge Vinetum Britannicum 46 Fit it aptly to the Stock, and bind it on with..Basse.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine sig. I Bass..is a sort of long straw or rushes.
1825 R. P. Ward Tremaine I. xxix. 231 A soft bit of wood..bound with bass to the stem.
b. attributive, as in bass-mat.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > mat > types of
tatami1614
bent-mat1615
bass-mat1727
bump1835
bast mat1837
parawai1847
brocade-matting1902
hooked mat1917
sit-mat1924
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Cabbage Wrap..Bass-mat, etc. about the Roots.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. vii. iii. 413 Straw-rope shoes and cloaks of bass-mat.
c. A fibre obtained from the leaf-bases or leaf-stalks of certain palms, used in the manufacture of brushes, ropes, etc.; also the palm from which this fibre is obtained. Also in combination: bass-broom n. (cf. bast broom at bast n.1 Compounds 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > brushing or sweeping > [noun] > brush or broom
besomc1000
bast broom1357
brush1377
broom14..
sweepc1475
duster1575
bristle brush1601
broom-besom1693
flag-broom1697
stock-brush1700
whisk1745
birch-broom1747
hair-broom1753
spry1796
corn-broomc1810
pope's head1824
whisker1825
sweeping-brusha1828
swish1844
spoke-brush1851
whisk broom1857
Turk's head1859
wisp1875
tube-brush1877
bass-broom?1881
crumb-brush1884
dusting-brush1907
palmetto brush1913
suede brush1915
swale1949
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > plants, grasses, or reeds > [noun] > vegetable fibre > other plant fibre
palmite1555
coir1582
pita1648
kitul1681
silk-cotton1697
pita-thread1748
abaca1751
khus khus1798
gomuti1811
coco fibre1813
Manila hemp1814
pineapple fibre1834
moog1840
piassava1841
Para grass1850
raffia1850
African hair1851
ambari1851
diss1855
munj1855
monkey grass1858
crin vegetal1859
mung1866
lauhala1880
bass?1881
raphia bast1882
istle1883
raphia grass1885
settler's twine1898
tucum1901
Manila fibre1921
bassine1923
sotol1942
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 79 Bass Broom Maker.
1883 Cassell's Family Mag. 222/1 The coarse familiar bass-brooms.
1891 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) Jan. 3 (heading) Extract of Minute by the Governor of Lagos on the Bass fibre of the Bamboo palm (Raphia vinifera).
1891 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) Jan. 3 The ‘African Bass’ is..a stiff and wiry fibre, varying in colour from dark brown to light red.
1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List p. xx Bass Brooms.
1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 182 Bass Heads... Handles for Bass, each extra, 0/2.
1902 W. I. Hannan Textile Fibres Commerce 145 Bass, Monkey, or Grass, Leopoldinia Piassava or Para Piassava.
1914 Daily Express 8 Dec. 4/5 The connection between the war and bass brooms seems at first sight somewhat obscure, but broom manufacturers..explain that the bass comes principally from Germany.
2. The name given elliptically to various articles made of this or similar material; e.g. a mat, a hassock, a flat plaited bag or flexible basket.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from other vegetable fibres > [noun] > other > articles made from
bass1706
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Bass or Hassock, a kind of Cushion made of Straw, such as are us'd to kneel upon in Churches. Basse, a Collar for Cart-horses, made of Straw, Sedge, Rushes, etc., whence the Bass for kneeling in Churches.
1838 W. Howitt Rural Life Eng. II. iii. xii. 308 Carrying home a bass brimful of vegetables.
1861 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. Sc. Life v. 118 You hear him..wipe his feet upon the bass.
Categories »
3. Building. ‘A short trough for holding mortar, when tiling the roof; it is hung to the lath.’ Nicholson Practical Builder 1823.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† bassn.3
Obsolete.
A kiss.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > kiss > [noun]
kissc1000
bassc1450
baisier1477
swapa1566
buss1567
smouch1578
lip-lick1582
lip-clip1606
tuck1611
accolade1654
poguec1670
osculum1706
slobber1884
banger1898
snog1959
c1450 Crt. Love cxiv If the basse ben full there is delight.
a1529 J. Skelton My Darling Dere 9 With ba, ba, ba, and bas, bas, bas, She cheryshed hym both cheke and chyn.
1570 Play Wit & Sc. (1848) 13 Nay, Syr, as for basses, From hence none passes But as in gage Of mary-age.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
bassn.4
/bɑːs//bas/ A miners' term for shale stained dark by vegetable matter. Cf. bat n.2 11.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > sedimentary rock > [noun] > shale > others
till1672
bass1686
bat1686
blue metal1699
scallop slate1711
black shale1730
shale-shiver1794
shale1825
till-stonec1830
Wenlock shale1834
famp1836
Boghead1858
oil shale1866
paper shale1874
symon1881
paste-rock1882
slasto1953
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. iii. 131 Bass or freestone above, and Ironston or earth, below.
1861 E. Hull Coal-fields Great Brit. 54 Some of the shales are so highly carbonaceous as to be nearly black, and form impure coal called ‘bass.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
Bassn.6
/bas/, U.S. /bæs/ Bass's ale or beer, the ‘India Pale Ale’ or ‘Bitter Beer’ manufactured by Messrs. Bass & Co. of Burton-on-Trent. Also with a and plural, a bottle of Bass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > beer > [noun] > other kinds of beer
spruce beerc1500
March beer1535
Lubecks beer1608
zythum1608
household beer1616
bottle1622
mumc1623
old beer1626
six1631
four1633
maize beer1663
mum beer1667
vinegar beer1677
wrest-beer1689
nog1693
October1705
October beer1707
ship-beer1707
butt beer1730
starting beer1735
butt1743
peterman1767
seamen's beer1795
chang1800
treacle beer1806
stock beer1826
Iceland beer1828
East India pale ale1835
India pale ale1837
faro1847
she-oak1848
Bass1849
bitter beer1850
bock1856
treble X1856
Burton1861
nettle beer1864
honey beer1867
pivo1873
Lambic1889
steam beer1898
barley-beer1901
gueuze1926
Kriek1936
best1938
rough1946
keg1949
IPA1953
busaa1967
mbege1972
microbrew1985
microbeer1986
yeast-beer-
1849 Illustr. London News 26 May 336 The consumption of Bass..is beyond belief.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. v. 42 Many a day I've drunk a dozen of Bass at Calcutta.
1909 Daily Chron. 3 Feb. 4/6 The first signs of returning vitality given by the Prince was to ask feebly for a bottle of ‘Bass’.
1953 D. Thomas Let. 24 Aug. in Sel. Lett. (1966) 412 Oh, to bask unasked in a Bass cask.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
bassadj.n.5
/beɪs/ A. adj.
1. Deep-sounding, low in the musical scale.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [adjective] > pitch > low in pitch
bassa1450
heavy1589
broad1607
grave1609
deepa1616
gravitoned1657
low-pitched1811
deep-drawn1860
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adjective] > low
lowa1393
bassa1450
deepa1616
a1450 Musical Treat. in Speculum (1935) 10 262 This same rwle may ye kepe be-twene Dsolre, Dlasolre, & al oþer base keyys.
c1450 Contin. Lydgate's Secrees (Sloane 2464) l. 2556 Meene in voys, nouthir to hih nor baas.
a1500 Partenay (Trin. Cambr.) l. 945 Ful gret mynstracy; Both hye and bas instrumentes sondry.
a1505 R. Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice l. 369 in Poems (1981) 144 With base tonys in ypodorica.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. v. l. 76 With a bas voce.
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 51 Let him..begyne to synge lowder and lowder, but styl in a base voice.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Dd5v Sad words, with hollow voice and bace, Shee to the virgin sayd.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 17 An Interuall..is the distance of a base and high sound.
1615 Bp. J. Hall Farewell Serm. in Recoll. Treat. 677 The trumpets..sounded basest and dolefullest at the last.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §173 All base notes, or very treble notes, give an asper sound.
1699 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ II. iii. ix. 90 The first [trumpet] was first us'd in Paphlagonia..; It had a deep base Sound.
1797 T. Holcroft tr. C. Moore Ess. Physiogn. IV. vi. 120 A broad prominent chin—the occipital bone knotty and projecting—a base voice—a firm step.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. i. 226 Boys are chosen..to produce the shrill notes; men are chosen to produce the bass notes.
1863 Proc. Royal Soc. 1862–3 12 229 With a given electric current, a wide strip of mercury gave wide crispations and a base sound, and a narrow strip gave narrow crispations and a high sound.
1905 I. C. Van Panbuys in Proc. 13th Internat. Congr. Americanists 1902 206 I often saw [the agami] there playing ‘hide and seek’ with the children and amusing them by its deep base sound.
1968 H. E. Salisbury 900 Days 525 He got up, walked about the room and then said quietly in his deep base voice, ‘General, your nerves are upset’.
2.
a. [partly attributive use of noun.] Of, pertaining to, or suited to, the lowest part in harmonized musical composition. bass voice: that ranging from E♭ below the bass stave to F above it. bass clef: the F clef, now placed on the fourth line from the bottom of the bass stave, formerly sometimes on the third, and earlier on the fifth.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [adjective] > parts in harmony or counterpoint > bass part
bass1552
basso1883
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > singing voice > [adjective] > bass
bass1552
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Base synger, succentor.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 86 Base descant is that kinde of descanting where your sight of taking and vsing your cordes must be vnder the plainsong.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic ix. 230 His ears were insensible to all sounds below F, marked by the base cliff.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 149/1 A bass voice is too..deficient in sweetness for single songs.
b. Hence prefixed, sometimes with hyphen, to names of musical instruments or their strings, to indicate that they are of the lowest pitch. For bass clarinet n. at clarinet n. 1, bass saxophone at saxophone n. 1, tuba n.1 1a, see the nouns.
ΚΠ
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 6 I haue sounded the verie base string of humilitie. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. iii. 23 Went like a Base-Viole in a case of leather. View more context for this quotation
1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) ii. 80 In Tuning of your [treble] Violin..the Basse or fourth string is G sol re ut.
1789 Oracle 26 Aug. 2/3 The President of the District des Filles Saint Thomas has succeeded better; he has procured a bass drum.
1804 W. Bentley Diary (1911) III. 68 The instrument Music..consisted of the Bass Drum, Bassoon, Clarinet & flute.
1856 M. C. Clarke tr. H. Berlioz Treat. Mod. Instrumentation 152 The sound of the bass trombone is majestic.
1863 N. Hawthorne Our Old Home I. 248 Rain-drops..pattering on the bass-drum.
1880 Grove's Dict. Music (at cited word) When musicians talk of ‘drums’ they mean kettledrums, in contradistinction to the side drum or bass drum.
1880 Grove's Dict. Music (at cited word) The Bass-drum..used to be called the long-drum.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 150/2 The Bass-flute requires a great deal of breath.
1884 G. W. Cable Dr. Sevier II. liv. 171 The soft boom of a bass-drum.
1928 Rhythm June 31/3 Haydn, a tympanist himself, made use of the bass drum, cymbals and triangle in his Military Symphony.
1996 G. Nicholls in P. Trynka Rock Hardware 96/2 (caption) By 1967, Moon was already using a nine-piece kit with two bass drums.
B. n.5 [By some mistakenly taken as derived < base n.1, foundation, with which it has etymologically no connection.]
1.
a. The lowest part in harmonized musical composition; the deepest male voice, or lowest tones of a musical instrument, which sing or sound this part. Cf. A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [noun] > low pitch > low sound or note
bassa1500
bottom1710
grave1728
lows1845
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > singing voice > [noun] > bass
bassa1500
thoroughbass1749
basso1818
basso-profundo1860
basso cantante1876
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > types of song > [noun] > part-song > a part in > bass
bassa1500
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [noun] > part in harmony or counterpoint > bass parts
bourdonc1400
burden1594
bassus1605
thoroughbass1632
bass1666
ground bass1685
continuo1724
continued bass1728
figured bass1786
walking bass1825
basso ostinato1876
bass line1894
bottom1936
bottom line1963
basso continuo-
a1500 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1935) 269 Whan..bulles of the see syng a good bace.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 432 Mony trumpet into sindrie tune, Sum in bas and sum in alt abone.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 3 The Basse or lowest part.
1664 J. Playford Brief Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 4) i. 72 The Bass for the Theorbo.
1666 S. Pepys Diary 30 July (1972) VII. 227 One of my new tunes that I have got Dr Childe to set me a bass to.
1706 A. Bedford Temple Musick viii. 163 The Base usually closing in the Fifth above the Key.
a1848 F. Marryat Valerie (1849) I. vi. 172 The milkmaid's falsetto, and the dustman's bass.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. 405/2 Hys false translacion with their farther false construccion, they thoughte shoulde be the basse and the tenour, whereuppon they woulde synge the trouble, with muche false descant.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xiii, in Poems 7 The Base of Heav'ns deep Organ.
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar iii. 103 The goodman knew Christ's voice to be a low base of humility.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad ii. 213 Whose hoarse heroic base Drowns the loud Clarion of the braying Ass.
1870 M. D. Conway Earthward Pilgrimage vi. 94 Above the bass of Commerce is the clear tenor of Fraternity.
2. One who sings the bass part.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > singer > singer by type of voice > [noun] > bass
bass1591
basso1818
basso-profundo1860
bassist1870
basso cantante1876
1591 E. Spenser Teares of Muses in Complaints 28 The..streames..were..taught to beare A Bases part amongst their consorts.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iii. 42 Song-men..most of them Meanes and Bases . View more context for this quotation
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 148/2 The employment of basses and barytons in principal characters on the operatic stage.
3. The bass string of a musical instrument.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > lute- or viol-type parts > [noun] > specific strings
minikin1541
bass1560
treble1560
mean1654
G string1831
cantino1876
1560 J. Heywood Fourth Hundred Epygrams xlvi. sig. Biiv Which string in al the harpe wolost thou styll harpe on. Not the base.
?1614 W. Drummond Sonnet: Sound Hoarse Sad Lute in Poems Sad Treeble weepe, and you dull Basses show Your Masters sorrow in a deadly vaine.
1682 J. Dryden Mac Flecknoe 5 At thy well sharpned Thumb..The Treble squeaks for fear, the Bases Rore.
4.
a. A bass-viol n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > viol > bass-viol
bumfiddle1599
bass-viola1616
baritone1685
bass1702
violone1724
bassette1847
octobass1850
1702 London Gaz. No. 3819/8 For two Violins and a Bass.
1794 J. Wolcot Rowland for Oliver in Wks. II. 66 Watkyn..forbore his bass to seize.
b. A double bass.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > double-bass
contrabass1598
double bass1728
bull fiddle1880
doghouse1924
bass1927
string bass1927
slap-bass1949
1927 Melody Maker Sept. 926/3 The bass, being a rhythm instrument, must conform to the rhythm set by the rhythm section.
1962 Oxf. Mail 22 June 5/5 The rules allow competitors to use bass and drum accompaniment.
5. Short for thoroughbass n.
Draft additions 1997
The low-frequency component of (esp. transmitted or reproduced) sound. Frequently attributive. Cf. treble n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > frequency or band of frequencies
high frequency1842
low frequency1900
voice frequency1905
audio frequency1913
pulsatance1919
medium frequency1920
side frequency1920
intermediate frequency1924
bass1930
frequency1943
frequency spectrum1955
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > low frequency
low frequency1839
sub-bass1839
bass1930
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > [noun] > low frequency component of sound
bass1930
1930 Wireless World 26 Mar. 333/1 The tone control which emphasizes either treble or bass consists of a variable capacity between the input and output of the power valves.
1936 Wireless World 28 Feb. 214 Bass and treble tone controls.
1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. iii. 66 For example, bass boost is secured by attenuation of the higher frequencies.
1988 V. Capel Audio & Hi-Fi Engineer's Pocket Bk. 42 To avoid loss of bass, a frequency-dependent phase-shifter progressively changes the relative phase until they [sc. the sounds] are in phase at the lowest frequency.
Draft additions June 2007
A bass guitar.Although it is not certain exactly what instrument is referred to in quot. 1937, the contrast with the Bassoguitar (an upright bass) suggests it is probably an electric bass guitar of the type now familiar, which became commercially available (on a very limited scale) at around this time.
ΚΠ
1937 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 19 Sept. 6 c/5 Bassoguitar, $67.50. Electric bass with amplifier... Also 3 used electric guitars.
1952 Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury 18 Oct. 20 (advt.) Fender Precision Bass. A new sensation for bass players.
1970 Music Educators Jrnl. 56 15 (advt.) A new work..featuring optional electric guitars, including the electric bass.
1989 Toronto Star (Nexis) 17 Apr. c4 [Rutherford] came up in the world playing bass for an arty, prog-rock outfit.
2005 Uncut June 30/1 Romeo..plays guitar..while younger sister Michele plays bass and harmonises.
Draft additions June 2007
bass-baritone n. [probably after German Bassbariton] a singer who has the ranges of both a bass and a baritone; the voice of such a singer.
ΚΠ
1869 Musical Times & Singing Class Circular 14 198/1 (advt.) Mr. George Vigay, bass baritone vocalist, is open for engagements in town or country.
1917 C. Cooke Pract. Singing ii. 20 Though still partaking of the grave quality, the bass-baritone can use the frontale voice..up to C sharp.
2003 Time Out N.Y. 14 Aug. 125/2 He's still got the honey-dripping bass-baritone that astonishes everyone who hears it.
Draft additions June 2007
bass bin n. colloquial a large speaker cabinet containing loudspeakers designed to reproduce low-frequency sounds accurately, used esp. to enhance the bass sound at live music performances; cf. woofer n. 2.
ΚΠ
1973 Lincoln (Nebraska) Star 14 Apr. 17/9 (advt.) Must sell—bass bins for Fender bass or P.A. woofers.
1981 Winnipeg Free Press 1 Apr. (Classified section) 52/1 Gauss 5840 bass bin.
1992 Independent (Nexis) 8 Oct. 20 At heavy metal concerts fans have been known to stick their heads into the bass bins of the PA system.
2004 Village Voice 31 Mar. 12/4 The Quad installed extra bass bins just for the movie.
Draft additions June 2007
bass boost n. the enhancement of low-frequency sound in a recording or performance; a facility on sound equipment which provides this.
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1938 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 17 Mar. 4 d (advt.) True bass boost tone control.
1957 Pract. Wireless 33 706/1 Simple switched bass-boost and top-cut compensation is provided.
1969 Gramophone Apr. 1502/3 A small amount of bass boost gives a well balanced performance.
2001 Max Power Dec. 186/3 Additional features include line-out for daisy chaining amps..plus a bass boost.
Draft additions June 2007
bass guitar n. any of various instruments resembling a (large) standard guitar, but which produces lower notes; (now) esp. a (usually electric) guitar with a long neck and four heavy strings tuned an octave below the lower strings on a standard guitar.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > guitar or lute type > [noun] > guitar > other guitars
slidec1608
samisen1616
angelique1660
angelot1678
angel lutea1708
strim-stramc1730
sitar1777
balalaika1788
ramkie1805
sancho1817
sanxian1839
bass guitar1855
gimbri1876
cuatro1904
electric guitar1933
requinto1937
tamburitza1941
tiple1942
dobro1952
acoustic guitar1953
acoustical guitar1957
bottleneck guitar1961
acoustic1962
slide guitar1968
1855 B. L. Ball Rambles in E. Asia xx. 175 There was an Indian band of music, of flutes, harps, two treble and two bass guitars, &c.
1871 Overland Monthly Dec. 520/1 Curious instruments are produced:..the bajo, or large bass guitar.
1895 Daily News 22 May 7/3 Three mandolas (or mandoras), eighteen guitars..and a bass guitar.
1953 Melody Maker 31 Oct. 14/3 (advt.) Engagements wanted... Bass guitar/vocals.
1988 P. Manuel Pop. Musics Non-Western World (1990) iv. 115 An acoustic bass guitar, the baixo (with four strings tuned like the lower strings on a guitar).
2005 R. Nidel World Music: Basics v. 282 A more relaxed ska, where the guitar strums only on the 2 and 4 and the bass guitar emphasizes the 1 and 3 beats.
Draft additions June 2007
bass guitarist n. a person who plays the bass guitar.
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1938 N.Y. Times 20 Feb. 10/1 The Ilima Islanders consist of Mr. Kalama, bass guitarist..and Alexander Gullato, guitarist.
1965 Blues Unlimited Dec. 4 Taylor is probably the finest bass guitarist in the business.
2001 Guardian 19 Mar. i. 21/7 The bass guitarist was flanked by a drummer with a conventional kit and five other percussionists banging away.
Draft additions June 2007
bass-heavy adj. (of music, sound, etc.) characterized by an abundance or excess of bass frequencies or by a prominent bass line.
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1939 Times 1 June 12/2 A well-considered balance of tone that was especially noticeable in the bass-heavy chords of the last act.
1969 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 27 Oct. 28/3 The orchestral accompaniment was rich, with a full, even bass-heavy string tone.
1973 Gramophone Sept. 462/1 The stereo disc seemed bass-heavy with the piano too close.
2002 Time Out N.Y. 29 Aug. 143/4 The real centerpiece of Scarface's albums remains their bass-heavy beats.
Draft additions June 2007
bass reflex n. a design feature, consisting of a vent or port in an enclosed loudspeaker, by which the reproduction of low-frequency sound is enhanced by the sound waves emanating through the vent from within the speaker cabinet; chiefly attributive.
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1940 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 53 334 It [sc. the loudspeaker] was mounted in a large baffle designed according to the bass-reflex principle.
1979 A. V. Kneese & B. T. Bower Environmental Quality & Residuals Managem. iii. 50 Tonal quality..can be achieved by a small infinite baffle speaker and..a comparatively huge bass reflex.
2000 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 23 Nov. h4 [The] CTK-731 Electronic Keyboard is a music noodler's delight with its beefy bass reflex audio system.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† bassv.1
Obsolete.
transitive and absol. To kiss.
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the mind > emotion > love > kiss > [verb (transitive)]
kissc900
reachOE
bassc1500
to lay on the lips1530
bussa1566
swap1577
smouch1588
lip1605
bause1607
suaviate1650
to pree a person's mouth1724
accolade1843
to give (someone) onec1882
to give (a person) some sugar1921
steups1967
c1500 Bk. Mayd Emlyn 26 One that yonge was, That coude ofte her basse.
c1525 J. Rastell New Commodye Propertes of Women sig. Bi Thus they kys & basse.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hiii He must nedes basse hir.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Ciii/2 To Basse, kisse, basiare.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
bassv.2
To utter or proclaim with bass voice or sound.Apparently an isolated use.
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a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 99 The Thunder (That deepe and dreadfull Organ-Pipe)..Did base my Trespasse. View more context for this quotation
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1c1000
n.21676
n.3c1450n.41686n.61849
adj.n.5a1450v.1c1500v.2a1616- intermetacarpal
- intermetallic
- intermetallics
- intermetatarsal
- intermewed
- intermewer
- intermewing
- intermezzi
- intermezzo
- intermezzos
- intermicate
- intermication
- intermicellar
- intermiddle
- intermigration
- intermigrations
- interminabilities
- interminability
- interminable
- interminableness
- interminablenesses
- interminably
- inseparableness
- inseparablenesses
- inseparables