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base

Etymology and origin of the French word base

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
early 12th century
Borrowed from
Latin basis
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʷem-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek βάσις
Latin basis
English basis
English base
English baseball
French base

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /baz/[1]
  • IPA: /bɑz/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec, formal): [bɑːz][1]
  • IPA (Quebec, informal): [bɑʊ̯z][1]

Forms

base f (plural bases)[1] Old French basse (early 12th century), base (about 1160); in the 16th century it was often masculine.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin basis (“base, pedestal; foundation”),[2][3][5][6] which transcribes Ancient Greek βάσις (básis, “a stepping; step; that on which one steps, foundation”),[2][7][1] from βαίνω (baínō, “to walk, go”).[7][4] The Greek verb belongs to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to go, come”), also seen in veniō (“to come”) (see venir) and English come.[2][7] Bloch and Wartburg note that the word was rare before the 16th century.[3]

Compare Romanian bază, Occitan basa, Italian base, Catalan base, Spanish base and Portuguese base.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Livre des Rois (12th century) describes the bronze stands of Solomon's temple: Puis fist dis bases, e chascune ont quatre alnes de longur (“then he made ten bases, each four cubits long”).[4][2]

Semantic evolution

It names the lower part on which a thing rests, with many technical uses.[2] In the 16th century it took from Latin the geometric sense (1549) and, abstractly, the fundamental principles of a system (1598); the sense “starting point” spread to the sciences in the 18th century, then to economics, linguistics and computing.[2] The main ingredient of a medicine was its base in 1672, whence à base de.[2][1] In chemistry, after older alchemical uses, it has named since 1808 a substance that reacts with an acid to give a salt and water.[2]

The military sense, territory that supplies and protects an army, appears metaphorically in 1834 and spread during the First World War (1918), whence base navale and the mountaineers' camp de base.[2] In 20th-century politics la base is the rank and file of a party (1933), and, from 1968 the workers as opposed to the party machine.[2] baser dates from 1787 (once in 1613) and basique from the 16th century.[3]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – Basse.[2]
  • c. 1160 – Base.[2][5]
  • 1549 – Geometrical sense.[2]
  • 1598 – The principles of a system.[2]
  • 1672 – The main ingredient of a medicine.[2]
  • 1787 – Baser.[3]
  • 1808 – A chemical base.[2]
  • 1834 – A military base, metaphorically.[2]
  • 1933 – La base “the rank and file”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The base, bottom part on which a thing rests: la base d'une colonne, la base d'une montagne.[7][8]
  2. A basis, foundation, principle: jeter les bases de, de base, basic, à la base, originally, at bottom.[1][2]
  3. A main ingredient: à base de, made from.[1][2]
  4. (military) A base: base navale, camp de base, base camp.[2][1]
  5. (chemistry) A base, a substance that reacts with an acid to form a salt.[9][2]
  6. (geometry, mathematics) A base.[2]
  7. La base: the rank and file (of a party or union).[2]
  8. Base de données: a database.[1]
  9. (baseball) A base.[2][1]

Word family

  • baser
  • basique

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 272a
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Base.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/base. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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