19. pl. A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the
middle to about the knees, or lower. [Obs.]
20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]
21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." Marston.
22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.
To their appointed base they went.
Dryden.
23. (Surv.) A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the
origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a
system of triangles. Lyman.
24. A rustic play; — called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." Shak.
25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.
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
(Base) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (basd); 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
(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.
Baseball
(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.
Baseboard
(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 mopboard,
and scrubboard.
