Etymograph

English

base

Base comes from Middle English base ‘a foundation or base’, from Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς ‘stepping, step’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘to come’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémtis1‘step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷə́tis1‘step’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβᾰ́σῐς1bắsĭs‘stepping’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbasis1‘a pedestal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400base1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500base1‘a foundation or base’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1613base1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English base
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1613, John Marston: “bakers in their linen bases”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, English base‘to come’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémtisWiktionary, English base‘step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷə́tisWiktionary, English base‘step’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβᾰ́σῐςWiktionary, English basebắsĭs‘stepping’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbasisWiktionary, English base‘a pedestal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400baseWiktionary, English base
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500baseWiktionary, English base‘a foundation or base’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1613baseWiktionary, English base. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1613, John Marston: “bakers in their linen bases”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with base, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’

  • come ← comen ← cuman ← *kweman ← *kwemaną
  • coming ← cominge ← cumende ← *kwemandz ← *kwemaną
  • event ← ēventus ← ēveniō ← veniō ← *gʷəniō
  • revenue
  • convention ← conventiō ← conveniō ← veniō ← *gʷəniō
  • adventure ← aventuren ← aventurer ← aventure ← *adventūra
  • avenue ← avenir ← adveniō ← veniō ← *gʷəniō
  • venue ← venu
  • diabetes ← διαβήτης ← διαβαίνω ← βαίνω ← *gʷəňňō
  • inventory ← inventorie ← inventōrium ← inventārium ← inveniō
  • cum ← come ← comen ← cuman ← *kweman
  • convenience ← convenientia ← conveniens ← conveniō ← *komgʷəniō

82 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of base

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-‘step’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémtis‘step, act of walking’uncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷə́tis‘step’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάσις‘stepping, step’uncertain
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbassus‘low’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bas‘low’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500baseuncertain
  8. Englishtodaybase

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Today it means

noun Something from which other things extend; a foundation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “base”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- / base