basis

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis),^[1] from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis, derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (whence also come). Doublet of base.

enPR: bāʹsĭs

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/,^[1]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbæɪ.sɪs/
• Rhymes: -eɪsɪs

basis (plural bases or (rare) baseis or (nonstandard) basises)

1. A physical base or foundation.
   • 1695, William Congreve, To the King, on the taking of Namur, 1810, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Chalmers (biographies), The Works of the English Poets from Chaucer to Cowper, Volume 10, page 271,

     Beholding rocks from their firm basis rent;
     Mountain on mountain thrown,
     With threatening hurl, that shook th' aerial firmament!

   • 1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 27:

     We see here the ground-plan of masses of houses, with their upper walls of fire-baked brick on a basis of stone.

2. A starting point, base or foundation for an argument or hypothesis.
   • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Audio (US):

     (file)

     I wonder if the South Korean side has any basis that its smog is from China.

3. An underlying condition or circumstance.
   • 2013 September 7, Daniel Taylor, “Danny Welbeck leads England's rout of Moldova but hit by Ukraine ban”, in The Guardian‎:

     Hodgson may now have to bring in James Milner on the left and, on that basis, a certain amount of gloss was taken off a night on which Welbeck scored twice but barely celebrated either before leaving the pitch angrily complaining to the Slovakian referee.

4. A regular frequency.

   You should brush your teeth on a daily basis at minimum.

   The flights to Fiji leave on a weekly basis.

   Cars must be checked on a yearly basis.

5. (agriculture, trading) The difference between the cash price a dealer pays to a farmer for his produce and an agreed reference price, which is usually the futures price at which the given crop is trading at a commodity exchange.
   • Included in the basis could be elevation, cleaning, freight by truck and/or rail, government inspection fees, administration fees, interest and storage charges as well as allowance for risk and profit for the grain dealer.https://www.alberta.ca/wheat-basis-levels.aspx
6. (linear algebra) In a vector space, a linearly independent set of vectors spanning the whole vector space.
7. (accounting) Amount paid for an investment, including commissions and other expenses.
8. (topology) A collection of subsets ("basis elements") of a set, such that this collection covers the set, and for any two basis elements which both contain an element of the set, there is a third basis element contained in the intersection of the first two, which also contains that element.

   The collection of all possible unions of basis elements of a basis is said to be the topology generated by that basis.

• (starting point for discussion): base

• absis, bassi, isbas

basis

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of basar

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (básis). Doublet of base, and also related to komme, from the same ultimate source.

basis

1. (linear algebra) basis

Borrowed from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis). Doublet of base. Also a distant doublet of komst, via Proto-Indo-European *gʷḿ̥tis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaː.zəs/, /ˈbaː.zɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ba‧sis

basis f (plural basissen or bases, diminutive basisje n)

1. basis (principle, foundation, that which is elementary)
2. base (lower portion, foundation)
3. Obsolete form of base (“base, alkali”).

• basisarts
• basisbehoefte
• basisbeurs
• basisdemocratie
• basisinkomen
• basisonderwijs
• basisschool
• machtsbasis
• thuisbasis

• basaal
• base

• → Indonesian: basis
• → Sranan Tongo: basis

From Latin basis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑsis/,
• Rhymes: -ɑsis
• Hyphenation^(key): ba‧sis

basis

1. basis, base

• bassi

From Dutch basis, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis). Doublet of basa.

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: ba‧sis

basis

1. basis, base

   Synonyms: asas, dasar

2. basis:
   1. (mathematics) in a vector space, a linearly independent set of vectors spanning the whole vector space.
3. base:
   1. (electronics) the name of the controlling terminal of a bipolar transistor (BJT).

      Synonym: tapak (Standard Malay)

   2. (geometry) the lowest side of a in a triangle or other polygon, or the lowest face of a cone, pyramid or other polyhedron laid flat.
   3. (military) headquarter: permanent structure for housing military.

• “basis” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (básis, “stepping, step; foot; base, pedestal”).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈba.sis/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈba.sis/,

basis f (genitive basis); third declension

1. (literal) a pedestal, foot, base

   Synonyms: fundāmentum, fundāmen, crepīdō

   • aliquem cum basī suā mētīrī

     to give false measure, to estimate too high

     (literally, “to measure a pillar together with its pedestal”)

   • 70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem‎, volume 2.2, archived from the original on 2022-02-03, section 154:

     ... huic etiam Romae videmus in basi statuarum maximis litteris incisum, A COMMVNI SICILIAE DATAS.

     ... we see in his honor, even in Rome, GIVEN BY THE COMMUNITY OF SICILY carved on the base of statues in huge letters.

   1. (figurative) a foundation

      Synonym: rādīx

      • c. 400 CE [c. 200–175 BCE], Ben Sira, translated by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, Vulgate‎, translation of original in Biblical Hebrew, archived from the original on 2021-07-11, Sirach 6.30:

        ... et erunt tibi conpedes in protectionem fortitudinis et bases virtutis et torques illius in stolam gloriae ...

        ... and its fetters will become a strong protection and the foundations of virtue for you, and its chain will become a glorious robe ...

2. (geometry) the base of a triangle, chord of an arc
   • 45 BCE, Cicero, De Natura Deorum, volume 2, section 125:

     Illud vero (ab Aristotele animadversum, a quo pleraque) quis potest non mirari: grues cum loca calidiora petentes maria transmittant, trianguli efficere formam; eius autem summo angulo aer ab is adversus pellitur, deinde sensim ab utroque latere, tamquam remis, ita pinnis cursus avium levatur; basis autem trianguli, quam efficiunt grues, ea tamquam a puppi ventis adiuvatur; eaeque in tergo praevolantium colla et capita reponunt; quod quia ipse dux facere non potest, quia non habet, ubi nitatur, revolat, ut ipse quoque quiescat; in eius locum succedit ex his, quae adquierunt, eaque vicissitudo in omni cursu conservatur.

     Really, who can not be surprised by this (noticed by Aristotle, from whom comes most of this): that cranes, when they cross the seas looking for warmer places, make the shape of a triangle; for the air is pushed away from them by the top angle, then gradually on each side, as by oars, so the birds' course is elevated by the wings; as for the base of the triangle that cranes make, it is helped as though by winds from the stern; and they put their necks and heads in the back of those flying before them; because the leader itself cannot do this, because it doesn't have one, when it strains itself, it flies back, so that it can also rest; one of those which were resting behind it takes its place, and this changing of places is kept up for the whole journey.

3. (architecture) the lowest part of the shaft of a column
4. (grammar) a primitive word, root
5. a track, footprint (of cattle)

   Synonym: vestīgium

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Note that alternative forms exist for some cases:

• baseōs for the genitive singular
• baseī for the ablative singular
• basin, basem, basidem for accusative singular
• baseis for the accusative plural

Third-declension noun (i-stem, accusative singular in -im, ablative singular in -ī).

• basella (diminutive)
• basicula (diminutive)
• basilāris (adjective)

• “basis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “basis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• basis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

From Ancient Greek βάσις (básis) via Latin basis, whence also the doublet base.

basis m (definite singular basisen, indefinite plural basiser, definite plural basisene)

1. basis
2. base

• basisår
• verdensbasis

• “basis” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Ancient Greek βάσις (básis) via Latin basis, whence also the doublet base.

basis m (definite singular basisen, indefinite plural basisar, definite plural basisane)

1. basis
2. base

• basisår

• “basis” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

basis m or f same meaning (plural basis)

1. basis

• “basis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10