Etymology

bass

B3A1S1S1

Today it means: Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency. Full definition →

Italian bassoinflu. ← English base ← Middle English base
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bass · adjective, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʷémtis
  3. Proto-Hellenic*gʷə́tis
  4. Ancient Greekβᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs)
  5. Latinbasis
  6. Old Frenchbase
  7. Middle Englishbase
  8. Englishbase
  9. Italianbassoinflu.
  10. English todaybass

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

bass · noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰórsos“prickle, thorn, scale”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*barsaz“perch”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bars
  4. Old English · inherited frombærs“a fish, perch”
  5. Middle English · inherited frombace, bas
  6. English todaybass

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.

bass · noun3

A corruption of bast.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.