basis

[In Fr., Port., & Ital. base ; Sp. bas a; Dan., Dut., Ger., & Lat. basis ; Gr. βάσις (basis) = a stepping, a step, a foot, a foundation; βαίνω (bainō) = to walk, to step, to go.] A. Ordinary Language: L. Lit. Of things which are or are a umed to be material: That on which anything rests, or is supposed to rest; the lowest part of anything, as the foundation of a building, . 1. Generally : "In altar-wise a stately pile they rear, The basis broad below, and top advane'd in air." Dryden. "Ascend my chariot, guide the rapid wheels That shake heaven's basis , Milton: P. L., bk. vi. 2. Specially . [B., I. 1. & 2.] II. Of things immaterial: The fundamental principle, groundwork, or support of anything. "All parts of an author's work were, moreover, supposed to rest on the same basis."-Lewis: Early Rom. Hist ., ch. 1., § 1. + B. Technically: I. Architecture: 1. The pedestal of a column; the lowest part of a column, the other being the shaft and the capital. [BASE.] "Observing an English inscription upon the basis , we read it over several times."-Add is on. 2. The pedestal of a statue. "How many times shall Cæsar bleed in sport, That now on l'ompey's basis lies along No worthier than the dust!" Shakesp.: Julius Cæsar, iii. 1. II. Chem. The same as BASE (q.v.). IIL Pros. The smallest trochaic rhythm.