Etymology

debase

D2E1B3A1S1E1

Today it means: To lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade. Full definition →

Old French bas ← Latin bassus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frombassus
  2. Old French · derived frombas
  3. English todaydebase

From de- + base, from Old French bas, from Latin bassus. Cognate with Spanish debajo (“under, beneath, below”). Compare abase.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchbas all →

base

Latinbassus all →

Bajabasso

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.