English
basset
Basset comes from Italian bassetta ‘an early card game that used only low-value…’, from basso ‘short (in height)’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘step’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘step’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémtis1‘step, act of walking’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷə́tis1‘step’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάσις2‘stepping, step’uncertain
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbassus3‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbasso4‘short (in height)’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbassetto5‘low’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbassetta6‘an early card game that used only low-value cards’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbassette6
- Englishearliest quotation 1707basset6
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάσις
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin bassus
- 3 Wiktionary, Italian basso
- 4 Wiktionary, Italian bassetto
- 5 Wiktionary, Italian bassetta
- 6 Wiktionary, English basset
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1707, Nicholas Rowe: “Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάσις‘step’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémtisWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάσις‘step, act of walking’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷə́tisWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάσις‘step’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάσιςWiktionary, Latin bassus‘stepping, step’uncertain
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbassusWiktionary, Italian basso‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbassoWiktionary, Italian bassetto‘short (in height)’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbassettoWiktionary, Italian bassetta‘low’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbassettaWiktionary, English basset‘an early card game that used only low-value cards’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbassetteWiktionary, English basset
- Englishearliest quotation 1707bassetWiktionary, English basset. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1707, Nicholas Rowe: “Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘step’
come, coming, event, revenue, convention, adventure, avenue, venue, inventory, cum, convenience, diabetes, advent, intervene, inventor, invent, souvenir, provenance, pug, convene, contravention, revenant, circumvention, contravene, quim, 51 more
through Proto-Hellenic *gʷə́tis ‘step’
through Ancient Greek βάσις ‘stepping, step’
through Late Latin bassus ‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
through Italian basso ‘short (in height)’
Today it means
noun The edge of a geological stratum at the surface of the ground; the outcrop.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “basset”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάσις, Latin bassus, Italian basso, Italian bassetto, Italian bassetta. 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- / basset