bass

[ beys ]

/ beɪs /

Music.

adjective

low in pitch; of the lowest pitch or range: a bass voice; a bass instrument.

of or relating to the lowest part in harmonic music.

noun

the bass part.

a bass voice, singer, or instrument.

double bass.

Nearby words

basque provinces, basque region, basque shirt, basques, basra, bass, bass clef, bass drum, bass fiddle, bass guitar, bass horn

Origin of bass

1400–50; late Middle English, variant of base² with ss of basso

Related formsbass·ly, adverbbass·ness, nounbass·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bassy

His bassy, back-of-the-throat syllables are straighter and sexier; his yowls are more pointed and pained.
Is Mick Jagger Too Old to Rock?|Andrew Romano|July 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"Bassy had a great deal of trouble with the choir this evening," said Mrs. Simpson plaintively.
That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope
Bassy, for instance, cannot altogether approve the new school.
That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 2(of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for bassy (1 of 3)

bass

/ (beɪs) /

noun

the lowest adult male voice usually having a range from E a 13th below middle C to D a tone above it

a singer with such a voice

the bass the lowest part in a piece of harmonySee also thorough bass

informal short for bass guitar, double bass

the low-frequency component of an electrical audio signal, esp in a record player or tape recorder
the knob controlling this on such an instrument

adjective

relating to or denoting the bassbass pitch; the bass part

denoting the lowest and largest instrument in a familya bass trombone

Word Origin for bass

C15 bas base 1; modern spelling influenced by basso

British Dictionary definitions for bassy (2 of 3)

bass

/ (bæs) /

noun

any of various sea perches, esp Morone labrax, a popular game fish with one large spiny dorsal fin separate from a second smaller oneSee also sea bass, stone bass

the European perchSee perch 2 (def. 1)

any of various predatory North American freshwater percoid fishes, such as Micropterus salmoides, (largemouth bass): family Centrarchidae (sunfishes, etc)

Word Origin for bass

C15: changed from base ², influenced by Italian basso low

British Dictionary definitions for bassy (3 of 3)

bass

/ (bæs) /

noun

another name for bast (def. 1)

short for basswood

Also called: fish bass a bast fibre bag for holding an angler's catch

Word Origin for bass

C17: changed from bast

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bassy (1 of 2)

bass

adj.

late 14c., of things, "low, not high," from Late Latin bassus "short, low" (see base (adj.)). Meaning "low in social scale or rank" is recorded from late 14c. Of voices and music notes, from mid-15c. (technically, ranging from the E flat below the bass stave to the F above it), infuenced by Italian basso. Meaning "lowest part of a harmonized musical composition" is from mid-15c. Meaning "bass-viol" is from 1702; that of "double-bass" is from 1927.

Word Origin and History for bassy (1 of 2)

bass

freshwater fish, early 15c. corruption of Old English bærs "a fish, perch," from Proto-Germanic base *bars- "sharp" (cf. Middle Dutch baerse, Middle High German bars, German Barsch "perch," German barsch "rough"), from PIE root *bhar- "point, bristle" (see bristle (n.)). The fish was so called for its dorsal fins. For loss of -r-, cf. ass (n.2).

Culture definitions for bassy

bass

[ (bays) ]

The lowest range of the male singing voice. (Compare baritone and tenor.)