base2

 
Pronunciation: /beɪs/

adjective

  • 1without moral principles; ignoble: the electorate’s baser instincts of greed and selfishness
  • 2 archaic denoting or befitting a person of low social class.
  • 3(of coins or other articles) not made of precious metal: the basest coins in the purse were made in the 620s ad

Derivatives

basely

adverb

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French bas, from medieval Latin bassus 'short' (found in classical Latin as a cognomen). Early senses included 'low, short' and 'of inferior quality'; from the latter arose a sense 'low in the social scale', and hence (mid 16th century) 'reprehensibly cowardly, selfish, or mean'