Adjacent Words

Base definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BASE, a.
1. Low in place. Obs.
2. Mean; vile; worthless; that is, low in value or estimation; used of things.
3. Of low station; of mean account; without rank, dignity or estimation among men; used of persons.
The base shall behave proudly against the honorable. Isaiah 3.
4. Of mean spirit; disingenuous; illiberal; low; without dignity of sentiment; as a base and abject multitude.
5. Of little comparative value; applied to metals, and perhaps to all metals, except gold and silver.
6. Deep; grave; applied to sounds; as the base sounds of a viol.
7. Of illegitimate birth; born out of wedlock.
8. Not held by honorable tenure. A base estate is an estate held by services not honorable,not in capite, or by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.
Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. So writers on the laws of England use the terms, a base fee, a base court.
BASE, n. [L. basis; that which is set, the foundation or bottom.]
1. The bottom of any thing, considered as its support or the part of a thing on which it stands or rests; as the base of a column, the pedestal of a statue, the foundation of a house,etc.
In architecture, the base of a pillar properly is that part which is between the top of a pedestal and the bottom of the shaft; but when there is no pedestal, it is the part between the bottom of the column and the plinth. Usually it consists of certain spires or circles. The pedestal also has its base.
2. In fortification, the exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which is drawn from the flanked angle of a bastion to the angle opposite to it.
3. In gunnery, the least sort of ordnance, the diameter of whose bore is l 1/4 inch.
4. The part of any ornament which hangs down, as housings.
5. The broad part of any thing, as the bottom of a cone.
6. In old authors, stockings; armor for the legs.
7. The place from which racers or tilters start; the bottom of the field; the carcer or starting post.
8. The lowest or gravest part in music; improperly written bass.
9. A rustic play, called also bays, or prison bars.
10. In geometry, the lowest side of the perimeter of a figure. Any side of a triangle may be called its base, but this term most properly belongs to the side which is parallel to the horizon. In rectangled triangles, the base, properly, is the side opposite to the right angle. The base of a solid figure is that on which it stands. The base of a conic section is a right line in the hyperbola and parabola, arising from the common intersection of the secant plane and the base of the cone.
11. In chimistry, any body which is dissolved by another body, which it receives and fixes. Thus any alkaline, earthy or metallic substance, combining with an acid, forms a compound or neutral salt, of which it is the base. Such salts are called salts with alkaline, earthy or metallic bases.
12. Thorough base, in music, is the part performed with base viols or theorbos, while the voices sing and other instruments perform their parts, or during the intervals when the other parts stop. It is distinguished by figures over the notes.
Counter base is a second or double base, when there are several in the same concert.
BASE, v.t. To embase; to reduce the value by the admixture of meaner metals. [Little used.]
2. To found; to lay the base or foundation.
To base and build the commonwealth of man.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats" [syn: basal, base]
2: of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth" [syn: base, baseborn, humble, lowly]
3: (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
4: not adhering to ethical or moral principles; "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds" [syn: base, immoral]
5: having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality; "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics" [syn: base, mean, meanspirited]
6: illegitimate [syn: base, baseborn]
7: debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage" n
1: installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases" [syn: base, base of operations]
2: lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure]
3: a place that the runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag" [syn: base, bag]
4: the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
5: (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
6: a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor" [syn: floor, base]
7: the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" [syn: basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone]
8: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: base, pedestal, stand]
9: a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) [syn: nucleotide, base]
10: any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia" [syn: base, alkali]
11: the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
12: the most important or necessary part of something; "the basis of this drink is orange juice" [syn: basis, base]
13: (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system" [syn: base, radix]
14: the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end [syn: base, home]
15: a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries [syn: al-Qaeda, Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida, Base]
16: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical]
17: the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan" [syn: infrastructure, base]
18: the principal ingredient of a mixture; "glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments"; "he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green"; "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"
19: a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
20: (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector v
1: use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation" [syn: establish, base, ground, found]
2: situate as a center of operations; "we will base this project in the new lab"
3: use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes [syn: free-base, base]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural bases) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin basis, from Greek, step, base, from bainein to go — more at come Date: 13th century 1. a. (1) the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature (2) the lower part of a complete architectural design b. the bottom of something considered as its support ; foundation c. (1) a side or face of a geometrical figure from which an altitude can be constructed; especially one on which the figure stands (2) the length of a base d. that part of a bodily organ by which it is attached to another more central structure of the organism 2. a. a main ingredient <paint having a latex base> b. a supporting or carrying ingredient (as of a medicine) 3. a. the fundamental part of something ; groundwork, basis b. the economic factors on which in Marxist theory all legal, social, and political relations are formed 4. the lower part of a heraldic field 5. a. the starting point or line for an action or undertaking b. a baseline in surveying c. a center or area of operations: as (1) the place from which a military force draws supplies (2) a place where military operations begin (3) a permanent military installation d. (1) a number (as 5 in 5^6.44 or 5⁷) that is raised to a power; especially the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself <the logarithm of 100 to the base 10 is 2 since 10² = 100> (2) a number equal to the number of units in a given digit's place that for a given system of writing numbers is required to give the numeral 1 in the next higher place <the decimal system uses a base of 10>; also such a system of writing numbers using an indicated base <convert from base 10 to base 2> (3) a number that is multiplied by a rate or of which a percentage or fraction is calculated <to find the interest on $90 at 10 percent multiply the base 90 by .10> e. root 6 6. a. the starting place or goal in various games b. any one of the four stations at the corners of a baseball infield c. a point to be considered <his opening remarks touched every base> 7. a. any of various typically water-soluble and bitter tasting compounds that in solution have a pH greater than 7, are capable of reacting with an acid to form a salt, and are molecules or ions able to take up a proton from an acid or able to give up an unshared pair of electrons to an acid b. any of the five purine or pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA that include cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, and uracil 8. a price level at which a security previously declining in price resists further decline 9. the part of a transformational grammar that consists of rules and a lexicon and generates the deep structures of a language • based adjective • baseless adjective II. transitive verb (based; basing) Date: 1587 1. to make, form, or serve as a base for 2. to find a base or basis for — usually used with on or upon III. adjective Etymology: Middle English bas, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin bassus fat, short, low Date: 14th century 1. archaic of little height 2. obsolete low in place or position 3. obsolete bass 4. archaic baseborn 5. a. resembling a villein ; servile <a base tenant> b. held by villenage <base tenure> 6. a. being of comparatively low value and having relatively inferior properties (as lack of resistance to corrosion) <a base metal such as iron> — compare noble b. containing a larger than usual proportion of base metals <base silver denarii> 7. a. lacking or indicating the lack of higher qualities of mind or spirit ; ignoble b. lacking higher values ; degrading <a drab base way of life> • basely adverb • baseness noun Synonyms: base, low, vile mean deserving of contempt because of the absence of higher values. base stresses the ignoble and may suggest cruelty, treachery, greed, or grossness <base motives>. low may connote crafty cunning, vulgarity, or immorality and regularly implies an outraging of one's sense of decency or propriety <refused to listen to such low talk>. vile the strongest of these words, tends to suggest disgusting depravity or filth <a vile remark>.

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. A locality from which operations are projected or supported. 2. An area or locality containing installations which provide logistic or other support. See also establishment. 3. Home airfield or home carrier. See also base of operations; facility. (JP 4-0)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a a part that supports from beneath or serves as a foundation for an object or structure. b a notional structure or entity on which something draws or depends (power base). 2 a principle or starting-point; a basis. 3 esp. Mil. a place from which an operation or activity is directed. 4 a a main or important ingredient of a mixture. b a substance, e.g. water, in combination with which pigment forms paint etc. 5 a substance used as a foundation for make-up. 6 Chem. a substance capable of combining with an acid to form a salt and water and usu. producing hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. 7 Math. a number in terms of which other numbers or logarithms are expressed (see RADIX). 8 Archit. the part of a column between the shaft and pedestal or pavement. 9 Geom. a line or surface on which a figure is regarded as standing. 10 Surveying a known line used as a geometrical base for trigonometry. 11 Electronics the middle part of a transistor separating the emitter from the collector. 12 Linguistics a root or stem as the origin of a word or a derivative. 13 Baseball etc. one of the four stations that must be reached in turn when scoring a run. 14 Bot. & Zool. the end at which an organ is attached to the trunk. 15 Heraldry the lowest part of a shield. --v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by on, upon) found or establish (a theory based on speculation; his opinion was soundly based). 2 (foll. by at, in, etc.) station (troops were based in Malta). Phrases and idioms: base hospital esp. Austral. a hospital in a rural area, or (in warfare) removed from the field of action. base pairing Biochem. complementary binding by means of hydrogen bonds of a purine to a pyrimidine base in opposite strands of nucleic acids. base rate Brit. the interest rate set by the Bank of England, used as the basis for other banks' rates. base unit a unit that is defined arbitrarily and not by combinations of other units. Etymology: F base or L basis stepping f. Gk 2. adj. 1 lacking moral worth; cowardly, despicable. 2 menial. 3 not pure; alloyed (base coin). 4 (of a metal) low in value (opp. NOBLE, PRECIOUS). Derivatives: basely adv. baseness n. Etymology: ME in sense 'of small height', f. F bas f. med.L bassus short (in L as a cognomen)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bass Bass, n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See Base, a.] 1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone. 2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also base.] Thorough bass. See Thorough bass.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Base Base (b[=a]s), a. [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL. bassus thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper name, and W. bas shallow. Cf. Bass a part in music.] 1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs. [Archaic] --Shak. 2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak. 3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] ``A pleasant and base swain.'' --Bacon. 4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic] Why bastard? wherefore base? --Shak. 5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals. 6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion. 7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations. ``A cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind.'' --Robynson (More's Utopia). ``Base ingratitude.'' --Milton. 8. Not classical or correct. ``Base Latin.'' --Fuller. 9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In this sense, commonly written bass.] 10. (Law) Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. Base fee, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a qualified fee. See note under Fee, n., 4. Base metal. See under Metal. Syn: Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous; sordid; degraded. Usage: Base, Vile, Mean. These words, as expressing moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean denote, in different degrees, the want of what is valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy is vile; undue compliances are mean.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Base Base, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ? a stepping step, a base, pedestal, fr. ? to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf. Basis, and see Come.] 1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue. ``The base of mighty mountains.'' --Prescott. 2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork. 3. (Arch.) (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented. (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration. 4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Base Base, v. t. [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.] 1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.] If any . . . based his pike. --Sir T. North. 2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.] Metals which we can not base. --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Base Base (b[=a]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (b[=a]sd); p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] [From Base, n.] To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon. --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ground Ground (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.] 1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or some indefinite portion of it. There was not a man to till the ground. --Gen. ii. 5. The fire ran along upon the ground. --Ex. ix. 23. Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the earth. 2. Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region; territory; country. Hence: A territory appropriated to, or resorted to, for a particular purpose; the field or place of action; as, a hunting or fishing ground; a play ground. From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground. --Milton. 3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens, lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the grounds of the estate are well kept. Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds. --Dryden. 4. 4. The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise, reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as, the ground of my hope. 5. (Paint. & Decorative Art) (a) That surface upon which the figures of a composition are set, and which relieves them by its plainness, being either of one tint or of tints but slightly contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a white ground. See Background, Foreground, and Middle-ground. (b) In sculpture, a flat surface upon which figures are raised in relief. (c) In point lace, the net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied; as, Brussels ground. See Brussels lace, under Brussels. 6. (Etching) A gummy composition spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle. 7. (Arch.) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; -- usually in the plural. Note: Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them. 8. (Mus.) (a) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody. (b) The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song. --Moore (Encyc.). On that ground I'll build a holy descant. --Shak. 9. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit. 10. pl. Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs; lees; feces; as, coffee grounds. 11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. Ground angling, angling with a weighted line without a float. Ground annual (Scots Law), an estate created in land by a vassal who instead of selling his land outright reserves an annual ground rent, which becomes a perpetual charge upon the land. Ground ash. (Bot.) See Groutweed. Ground bailiff (Mining), a superintendent of mines. --Simmonds. Ground bait, bits of bread, boiled barley or worms, etc., thrown into the water to collect the fish, --Wallon. Ground bass or base (Mus.), fundamental base; a fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody. Ground beetle (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of carnivorous beetles of the family Carabid[ae], living mostly in burrows or under stones, etc. Ground chamber, a room on the ground floor. Ground cherry. (Bot.) (a) A genus (Physalis) of herbaceous plants having an inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry tomato (P. Alkekengi). See Alkekengl. (b) A European shrub (Prunus Cham[ae]cerasus), with small, very acid fruit. Ground cuckoo. (Zo["o]l.) See Chaparral cock. Ground cypress. (Bot.) See Lavender cotton. Ground dove (Zo["o]l.), one of several small American pigeons of the genus Columbigallina, esp. C. passerina of the Southern United States, Mexico, etc. They live chiefly on the ground. Ground fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish which constantly lives on the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut. Ground floor, the floor of a house most nearly on a level with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in England, the first floor. Ground form (Gram.), the stem or basis of a word, to which the other parts are added in declension or conjugation. It is sometimes, but not always, the same as the root.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bases, basing, based, baser, basest) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. The base of something is its lowest edge or part. There was a cycle path running along this side of the wall, right at its base... Line the base and sides of a 20cm deep round cake tin with paper. = bottom ? top N-COUNT: usu the N of n 2. The base of something is the lowest part of it, where it is attached to something else. The surgeon placed catheters through the veins and arteries near the base of the head. N-COUNT: usu the N of n 3. The base of an object such as a box or vase is the lower surface of it that touches the surface it rests on. Remove from the heat and plunge the base of the pan into a bowl of very cold water. = bottom, underneath N-COUNT: usu with poss 4. The base of an object that has several sections and that rests on a surface is the lower section of it. The mattress is best on a solid bed base... The clock stands on an oval marble base, enclosed by a glass dome. N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft n N 5. A base is a layer of something which will have another layer added to it. Spoon the mixture on to the biscuit base and cook in a pre-heated oven... On many modern wooden boats, epoxy coatings will have been used as a base for varnishing. N-COUNT: usu with supp 6. A position or thing that is a base for something is one from which that thing can be developed or achieved. The family base was crucial to my development. = basis, foundation N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp 7. If you base one thing on another thing, the first thing develops from the second thing. He based his conclusions on the evidence given by the captured prisoners. VERB: V n on/upon n • based Three of the new products are based on traditional herbal medicines... ADJ: v-link ADJ on/upon n 8. A company's client base or customer base is the group of regular clients or customers that the company gets most of its income from. (BUSINESS) The company has been expanding its customer base using trade magazine advertising. N-COUNT 9. A military base is a place which part of the armed forces works from. Gunfire was heard at an army base close to the airport. ...a massive air base in eastern Saudi Arabia. N-COUNT: usu supp N 10. Your base is the main place where you work, stay, or live. For most of the spring and early summer her base was her home in Scotland. N-COUNT: usu poss N 11. If a place is a base for a certain activity, the activity can be carried out at that place or from that place. The two hotel-restaurants are attractive bases from which to explore southeast Tuscany... N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N prep 12. The base of a substance such as paint or food is the main ingredient of it, to which other substances can be added. Drain off any excess marinade and use it as a base for a pouring sauce... Oils may be mixed with a base oil and massaged into the skin. N-COUNT 13. A base is a system of counting and expressing numbers. The decimal system uses base 10, and the binary system uses base 2. N-COUNT: also N num 14. A base in baseball, softball, or rounders is one of the places at each corner of the square on the pitch. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(1) Substantive from Latin basis, Greek basis, a foundation.

(a) (mekhonah): the fixed resting-place on which the lavers in Solomon's temple were set (1Ki 7:27-43; 2Ki 16:17; 25:13,16; 2Ch 4:14; Jer 27:19; 52:17,20; compare Ezr 3:3; Zec 5:11 the American Revised Version, margin).

(b) (ken): pedestal in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) (1Ki 7:29,31) and in the Revised Version (British and American) only (Ex 30:18,28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8; 39:39; 40:11; Le 8:11) of the base of the laver of the tabernacle (the King James Version "foot").

(c) (yarekh): "base of candlestick" (the Revised Version (British and American) of Ex 25:31; 37:17) the King James Version "shaft."

(d) (yecodh): the Revised Version (British and American) "base of altar"; the King James Version "bottom" (Ex 29:12; 38:8; Le 4:7,18,25,30,34; 5:9; 8:15; 9:9).

(e) (gabh): the Revised Version (British and American) "elevation," i.e. basement of altar; the King James Version "higher place" (Eze 43:13).

(2) Adjective from French bas--low, or Welsh bas--"shallow": of lowly birth or station, of voluntary humility and of moral depravity.

(a) (shaphal, shephal): of David's self-humiliation (2Sa 6:22): "a modest unambitious kingdom" (Eze 17:14; 29:14,15 (BDB); Da 4:17 (the American Standard Revised Version "lowest")): compare shephelah = "lowland."

(b) (qalah): men of humble birth and station as opposed to the nobles (Isa 3:5).

(c) (beli-shem): "nameless," "of no account": "children of fools, yea, children of base men" (Job 30:8).

(d) the King James Version men, sons, daughters, children of Belial; literally "worthless persons"; in the American Standard Revised Version "base," except 1Sa 1:16 "wicked woman"; also the English Revised Version of De 13:13, "base," which elsewhere retains the King James Version rendering.

(e) (tapeinos): "lowly," "humble or abject" (2Co 10:1); the Revised Version (British and American), "lowly"; so Paul's enemies said he appeared when present in the church at Corinth.

(f) (agenes): "of low birth," "of no account" (1Co 1:28): "base things of the world."

(g) (agoraios): " belonging to the market-place," loafers, worthless characters (Ac 17:5): "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort"; the Revised Version (British and American) "certain vile fellows of the rabble."

T. Rees

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Inferior, of little or no worth, cheap, worthless. 2. Debased, spurious, counterfeit, false. 3. Plebeian, vulgar, untitled, nameless, lowly, humble, unknown, unhonored, base-born, of low birth. 4. Mean, despicable, contemptible, beggarly, sordid, servile, slavish, menial, sorry, worthless, pitiful, low-minded, rascally, abject, grovelling, low, venal. 5. Shameful, disreputable, disgraceful, discreditable, dishonorable, scandalous, infamous, vile, villanous. II. n. 1. Basis, foundation, ground, groundwork, lowest part, bottom, foot. 2. (Surveying.) Base-line. 3. (Chem.) Principal element (of a compound). III. v. a. Found, rest, establish. [Followed by on or upon.]

Moby Thesaurus

CP, GHQ, HQ, Mickey Mouse, abhorrent, abject, abominable, acid, acidity, agent, alkali, alkalinity, alloisomer, anchor, angle, anion, antacid, antecedents, arrant, atom, atrocious, awful, background, bad, baluster, balustrade, banister, base of operations, base-minded, baseboard, baseborn, basement, basis, bearing wall, beastly, bed, bed on, bedding, bedrock, beggarly, below contempt, beneath contempt, biochemical, black, blackguardly, blamable, blameworthy, bolster, bottom, bottom on, brutal, build, build in, build on, buttress, caitiff, call, camp, caryatid, cation, causation, cause, cause and effect, center of authority, central administration, central office, central station, chassis, cheap, cheesy, chemical, chemical element, chromoisomer, clown white, coarse, cold cream, collector, colonnade, column, command post, common, compact, company headquarters, compound, construct, contemptible, copolymer, core, corrupt, cosmetics, counterfeit, cowardly, craven, criminal, crude, crummy, dado, damnable, dark, dastard, dastardly, debased, deficient, degraded, degrading, deplorable, depraved, derive, despicable, determinant, determinative, detestable, die, dimer, dire, dirty, disgraceful, disgusting, dishonorable, disreputable, distance, downtrodden, draw, dreadful, drugstore complexion, dunghill, dunghilly, egregious, element, emitter, enormous, establish, etiology, evil, evil-minded, execrable, eye shadow, eyebrow pencil, factor, fake, fetid, filamentary transistor, filthy, fix, flagitious, flagrant, floor, flooring, fond, foot, footing, footstalk, forbidding, forged, form, foul, found, found on, foundation, foundation cream, fourth-class, frame, framework, fraudulent, fulsome, fundament, fundamental, general headquarters, germanium crystal triode, grave, greasepaint, grievous, gross, ground, ground on, grounds, groundwork, hand cream, hand lotion, hardpan, hateful, headquarters, heavy chemicals, heinous, high polymer, hinge, home, homopolymer, hook-collector transistor, horrible, horrid, humble, humiliating, hydracid, ignoble, ignominious, imperfect, improper, inadequate, incompetent, indecent, infamous, inferior, infra dig, infrastructure, iniquitous, inorganic chemical, install, insufferable, insufficient, invest, ion, irregular, isomer, jack, keel, knavish, lamentable, lascivious, lay the foundation, lewd, line of departure, lip rouge, lipstick, little, loathsome, lousy, low, low-class, low-down, low-grade, low-minded, low-quality, low-test, lowborn, lower strata, lowest level, lowest point, lowly, lumpen, macromolecule, main office, makeup, maladroit, malodorous, mangy, mascara, mean, measly, mediocre, menial, mephitic, metamer, miasmal, miasmic, miserable, molecule, monomer, monstrous, mopboard, mudpack, nadir, nail polish, nasty, naughty, nauseating, nefarious, neutralizer, newel-post, noisome, nonacid, not comparable, not in it, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, occasion, odious, offensive, organic chemical, ornery, out of it, outrageous, oxyacid, paint, paltry, pavement, peccant, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, perspective, petty, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, pinchbeck, pitch, pitiable, pitiful, place, plant, plebeian, plinth, point of departure, point-contact transistor, poky, pole, poltroon, poltroonish, polymer, poor, pornographic, port of embarkation, position, post, powder, powder puff, predicate, principle, profane, prop, pseudoisomer, puff, punk, pusillanimous, put in, put up, queen-post, radical, rank, rascally, reagent, rebarbative, recreant, regrettable, repellent, reprehensible, reprobate, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, rest, revolting, ribald, riprap, rock bottom, roguish, root, rotten, rouge, rubbishy, rude, rudiment, sad, scabby, scampish, scandalous, schlock, scoundrelly, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scurrilous, scurvy, seat, seating, second-best, second-class, secure, seedy, selfish, servile, set, set on, set up, shabby, shaft, shameful, shocking, shoddy, shoemold, sickening, sill, sinful, slavish, sleazy, small, socle, sole, solid ground, solid rock, sordid, sorry, spacistor, spurious, squalid, staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, standing, start, starting gate, starting place, starting point, starting post, station, status, stay, stem, stereobate, stimulus, stinking, stylobate, subbase, submissive, subservient, substratum, substruction, substructure, sulfacid, support, surbase, tacky, takeoff, talcum, talcum powder, tatty, terra firma, terrible, tetrode transistor, theme, third-class, third-rate, tinny, toe, too bad, transistor, trashy, trimer, trivial, trunk, ugly, unclean, underbuilding, undercarriage, undergird, undergirding, underlie, underlying level, underpinning, understruction, understructure, undignified, unforgivable, unipolar transistor, unmentionable, unpardonable, unseemly, unskillful, unspeakable, unwashed, unworthy, upright, vanishing cream, vanity case, venue, vest, vicious, viewpoint, vile, villainous, vulgar, wainscot, war paint, warrant, wicked, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, wrong