Part 539

Altern base. See under Altern. -- Attic base. (Arch.) See under Attic. -- Base course. (Arch.) (a) The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made of large stones or a mass of concrete; -- called also foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above. -- Base hit (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. -- Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent. -- Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. -- Base ring (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding. H. L. Scott.

Base (bs), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (bsd); p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] [From Base, n.] To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon. Bacon.

Base, v. t. [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.] 1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.]

If any . . . based his pike. Sir T. North.

2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.]

Metals which we can not base. Bacon.

Base"ball" (&?;), n. 1. A game of ball, so called from the bases or bounds (four in number) which designate the circuit which each player must endeavor to make after striking the ball.

2. The ball used in this game.

Base"board (&?;), n. (Arch.) A board, or other woodwork, carried round the walls of a room and touching the floor, to form a base and protect the plastering; -- also called washboard (in England), mopboard, and scrubboard.

Base"born` (&?;), a. 1. Born out of wedlock. Gay.

2. Born of low parentage.

3. Vile; mean. "Thy baseborn heart." Shak.

Base"-burn`er (&?;), n. A furnace or stove in which the fuel is contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower stratum is consumed.

Base"-court` (&?;), n. [F. basse-cour. See Base, a., and Court, n.] 1. The secondary, inferior, or rear courtyard of a large house; the outer court of a castle.

2. (Law) An inferior court of law, not of record.

Based (&?;), p. p. & a. 1. Having a base, or having as a base; supported; as, broad-based.

2. [See Base, n., 18-21.] Wearing, or protected by, bases. [Obs.] "Based in lawny velvet." E. Hall.

Ba"se*dow's dis*ease" (&?;). [Named for Dr. Basedow, a German physician.] (Med.) A disease characterized by enlargement of the thyroid gland, prominence of the eyeballs, and inordinate action of the heart; -- called also exophthalmic goiter. Flint.

Bas"e*lard (&?;), n. [OF. baselarde, LL. basillardus.] A short sword or dagger, worn in the fifteenth century. [Written also baslard.] Fairholt.

Base"less, a. Without a base; having no foundation or support. "The baseless fabric of this vision." Shak.

Base"ly, adv. 1. In a base manner; with despicable meanness; dishonorably; shamefully.

2. Illegitimately; in bastardy. [Archaic] Knolles.

Base"ment (&?;), n. [F. soubassement. Of uncertain origin. Cf. Base, a., Bastion.] (Arch.) The outer wall of the ground story of a building, or of a part of that story, when treated as a distinct substructure. (See Base, n., 3 (a).) Hence: The rooms of a ground floor, collectively.

Basement membrane (Anat.), a delicate membrane composed of a single layer of flat cells, forming the substratum upon which, in many organs, the epithelioid cells are disposed.

Base"ness (&?;), n. The quality or condition of being base; degradation; vileness.

I once did hold it a baseness to write fair. Shak.

Bas"e*net (&?;), n. See Bascinet. [Obs.]

Base" vi`ol (&?;). See Bass viol.