In doing some research the other day I went back and checked the current definition of the word "base." I was surprised by what I found.
It's March of 1981 when Carl Boenish first used the word "base" to describe foot launched jumps or Footies as he sometimes called them (fortunately not too often). The dictionaries of the day, what Carl would have been reading from when he found the word "base," included two or three definitions at most.
Gee, look what's happened since:
This is from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2002 Edition
Main Entry 1: base
Pronunciation: 'bAs
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin basis, from Greek, step, base, from bainein to go -- more at COME
Date: 13th century
Inflected Form(s): plural bas.es /'bA-s&z/
1 a (1) : the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature (2) : the lower part of a complete architectural design b : the bottom of something considered as its support : FOUNDATION c (1) : a side or face of a geometrical figure from which an altitude can be constructed; especially : one on which the figure stands (2) : the length of a base d : that part of a bodily organ by which it is attached to another more central structure of the organism
2 a : a main ingredient b : a supporting or carrying ingredient (as of a medicine)
3 a : the fundamental part of something : GROUNDWORK, BASIS b : the economic factors on which in Marxist theory all legal, social, and political relations are formed
4 : the lower part of a heraldic field
5 a : the starting point or line for an action or undertaking b : a baseline in surveying c : a center or area of operations: as (1) : the place from which a military force draws supplies (2) : a place where military operations begin (3) : a permanent military installation d (1) : a number (as 5 in 5[^6.44] or 5[^7]) that is raised to a power; especially : the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself (2) : a number equal to the number of units in a given digit's place that for a given system of writing numbers is required to give the numeral 1 in the next higher place ; also : such a system of writing numbers using an indicated base (3) : a number that is multiplied by a rate or of which a percentage or fraction is calculated e : ROOT 6
6 a : the starting place or goal in various games b : any one of the four stations at the corners of a baseball infield c : a point to be considered
7 a : any of various typically water-soluble and bitter tasting compounds that in solution have a pH greater than 7, are capable of reacting with an acid to form a salt, and are molecules or ions able to take up a proton from an acid or able to give up an unshared pair of electrons to an acid b : any of the five purine or pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA that include cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, and uracil
8 : a price level at which a security previously actively declining in price resists further price decline
9 : the part of a transformational grammar that consists of rules and a lexicon and generates the deep structures of a language
- based /'bAst/ adjective
- base.less /'bA-sl&s/ adjective
- off base 1 : WRONG, MISTAKEN 2 : UNAWARES
Main Entry 2: base
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1587
Inflected Form(s): based; bas.ing
1 : to make, form, or serve as a base for
2 : to find a base or basis for -- usually used with on or upon
Main Entry 3: base
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English bas, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin bassus short, low
Date: 14th century
1 archaic : of little height
2 obsolete : low in place or position
3 obsolete : BASS
4 archaic : BASEBORN
5 a : resembling a villein : SERVILE b : held by villenage
6 a : being of comparatively low value and having relatively inferior properties (as lack of resistance to corrosion) -- compare NOBLE b : containing a larger than usual proportion of base metals
7 a : lacking or indicating the lack of higher qualities of mind or spirit : IGNOBLE b : lacking higher values : DEGRADING
- base.ly adverb
- base.ness noun
synonyms BASE, LOW, VILE mean deserving of contempt because of the absence of higher values. BASE stresses the ignoble and may suggest cruelty, treachery, greed, or grossness . LOW may connote crafty cunning, vulgarity, or immorality and regularly implies an outraging of one's sense of decency or propriety . VILE, the strongest of these words, tends to suggest disgusting depravity or filth .
End . . .
My favorite one is: "the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself."
Now, that's BASE Jumping!
Nick :P
BASE 194
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