base: of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs.-low in place or position.-of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean.-illegitimate by birth; bastard.-of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.-alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.-morally low. hence: low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations.-not classical or correct.-deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin.-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.-the bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue.-fig.: the fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.-the lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.-the lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration.-that extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.-the positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; -- applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids.-the chief ingredient in a compound.-a substance used as a mordant.-the exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.-the line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.-the number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.-a low, or deep, sound. (mus.) (a) the lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) one who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.-a place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.-the smallest kind of cannon.-that part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.-the basal plane of a crystal.-the ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.-the lower part of the field. see escutcheon.-the housing of a horse.-a kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.-the lower part of a robe or petticoat.-an apron.-the point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.-a line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles.-a rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars.-any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.-to put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon.-to abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower.-to reduce the value of; to debase.