Main Entry:

ba·sis

Pronunciation:

\ˈbā-səs\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural ba·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology:

Latin — more at base

Date:

14th century

1: the bottom of something considered as its foundation2: the principal component of something3 a: something on which something else is established or based b: an underlying condition or state of affairs <hired on a trial basis> <on a first-name basis>4: the basic principle5: a set of linearly independent vectors in a vector space such that any vector in the vector space can be expressed as a linear combination of them with appropriately chosen coefficients