thorough bass

[ beys ]

/ beɪs /

Save This Word!

noun Music.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of thorough bass

First recorded in 1655–65

Words nearby thorough bass

thorny, thoro, Thorold, thoron, thorough, thorough bass, thorough brace, thoroughbred, thoroughfare, thoroughgoing, thoroughly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use thorough bass in a sentence

He trained Wilhelmine in music, till thorough-bass, counterpoint, and the rest became to her an easy exercise.
A German Pompadour|Marie Hay
Murer seems to know nothing of Neefe when he says that van den Eeden was Beethovens only teacher in thorough-bass.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume I (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer
So far as his duties permitted, Herr Neefe has also given him instruction in thorough-bass.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume I (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Murer, after speaking of Pfeiffer, continues as follows: Van den Eeden remained his only teacher in thorough-bass.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume I (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer

What counter-part could you expect to your music, blockhead, but a thorough-bass of bastinadoes?
The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha|Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

British Dictionary definitions for thorough bass

thorough bass

/ (beɪs) /

noun

Also called: basso continuo, continuo (esp during the baroque period) a bass part underlying a piece of concerted music. It is played on a keyboard instrument, usually supported by a cello, viola da gamba, etcSee also figured bass
(as modifier)a thorough-bass part

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