Bass

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪs
• enPR: bās, IPA: /beɪs/
• Homophones: base

Italian basso ("low"), from Latin bassus ("low").

Full definition of bass

Adjective

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 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

• (singer) basso
• (clef) F clef

Coordinate terms

• (voice types) soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, contralto female; countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass male

Derived terms

Verb

1. To sound in a deep tone.
• 1623 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tempest (First Folio ed.), act III, scene iii, lines 99-99The windes did Å¿ing it to me : ...
  and the Thunder
  (That deepe and dreadfull Organ-Pipe) pronounc'd
  The name of Proſper : it did baſe my Treſpaſſe

Pronunciation

• enPR: băs, IPA: /bæs/

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.

Noun

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

Derived terms

A corruption of bast.

Noun

1. The linden or lime tree.
2. Its bark, used for making mats.
3. A hassock or thick mat.