English
debase
Debase comes from Old French bas ‘low’, from Ancient Greek βάσις ‘stepping, step’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-.
- 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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbassus3‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bas3‘low’
- Englishearliest quotation 1961debase3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάσις
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin bassus
- 3 Wiktionary, English debase
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Newton N. Minow: “And just as history will decide whether the leaders…”.
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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbassusWiktionary, English debase‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400basWiktionary, English debase‘low’
- Englishearliest quotation 1961debaseWiktionary, English debase. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Newton N. Minow: “And just as history will decide whether the leaders…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘step’
come, coming, event, revenue, convention, adventure, avenue, venue, diabetes, inventory, cum, convenience, 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 Latin bassus ‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
Today it means
verb To lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “debase”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάσις, Latin bassus. 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- / debase