bass

      See also bas

      English

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      Wikipedia

      Etymology 1

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

      Pronunciation

      Adjective

      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.
      Translations
      low in pitch

      Noun

      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 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. 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.
      Synonyms
      Coordinate terms
      Derived terms
      Translations
      low spectrum of sound
      section of musical group
      singer
      musical instrument
      clef sign

      Verb

      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

      Etymology 2

      a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

      From Middle English 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 (“baars”), German Barsch (“perch”). More at barse.

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      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.
      Usage notes

      The plural bass refers to multiple fish of a single variety or species, whereas basses refers to multiple varieties or species.

      Derived terms
      Translations
      perch

      See also

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      Luxembourgish

      Verb

      bass

      1. second-person singular present indicative of sinn
      ↑Jump back a section

      Norwegian

      Noun

      bass

      1. (music) bass; (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the base range)
      2. (music) a bass guitar
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      Romansch

      Alternative forms

      • (Vallader) bas

      Etymology

      From Late Latin bassus.

      Adjective

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

      1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader) deep, low
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      Last modified on 5 June 2013, at 01:18