bass

Etymology 1

A respelling of base under the influence of Italian basso (“low”).

adj

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.

noun

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.

verb

1. To sound in a deep tone.

Etymology 2

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

noun

1. The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes.

Etymology 3

A corruption of bast.

noun

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.
   BASS, 1, a door mat] [1865, William Stott Banks, A List of Provincial Words in use at Wakefield in Yorkshire, Wakefield: J.R.Smith, page 6
   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. 1982 [1980], J L Carr, A Month in the Country, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books/Harvester Press, page 2