basis

English Online Dictionary. What means basis‎? What does basis mean?

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

enPR: bāʹsĭs

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/,
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbæɪ.sɪs/
• Rhymes: -eɪsɪs

Noun

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

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

3. An underlying condition or circumstance.
4. A regular frequency.

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.
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.

Synonyms

• (starting point for discussion): base

Derived terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• absis, bassi, isbas

Catalan

Verb

basis

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of basar

Danish

Etymology

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

Noun

basis

1. (linear algebra) basis

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaː.zəs/, /ˈbaː.zɪs/
• Hyphenation: ba‧sis

Noun

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”).

Derived terms

Related terms

• basaal
• base

Descendants

• → Indonesian: basis
• → Sranan Tongo: basis

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin basis.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

basis

1. basis, base

Declension

Anagrams

• bassi

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbasis/ [ˈba.sɪs]
• Rhymes: -asis
• Syllabification: ba‧sis

Etymology 1

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

Noun

basis (plural basis-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

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch bassist (“bassist”).

Noun

basis (plural basis-basis)

1. (music) bassist: a musician playing a bass; esp. a bass guitarist

Further reading

• “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.

Latin

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

basis f (genitive basis); third declension

1. (literal) a pedestal, foot, base

   Synonyms: fundāmentum, fundāmen, crepīdō

   1. (figurative) a foundation

      Synonym: rādīx
2. (geometry) the base of a triangle, chord of an arc
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

Inflection

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).

Derived terms

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

Related terms

Descendants

References

• “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.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. basis
2. base

Derived terms

• basisår
• verdensbasis

References

• “basis” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. basis
2. base

Derived terms

• basisår

References

• “basis” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Spanish

Noun

basis m or f same meaning (plural basis)

1. basis

Further reading

• “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