Main Entry:

¹bot·tom

Pronunciation:

\ˈbä-təm\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English botme, from Old English botm; akin to Old High German bodam bottom, Latin fundus, Greek pythmēn

Date:

before 12th century

1 a: the underside of something b: a surface (as the seat of a chair) designed to support something resting on it —used figuratively in phrases like the bottom dropped out to describe a sudden collapse or downturn <lost millions when the bottom dropped out of the stock market> c: the posterior end of the trunk : buttocks, rump2: the surface on which a body of water lies3 a: the part of a ship's hull lying below the water b: boat, ship4 a: the lowest part or place <the bottom of the page> b: the remotest or inmost point c: the lowest or last place in point of precedence <started work at the bottom> d: the part of a garment worn on the lower part of the body ; especially : the pants of pajamas —usually used in plural e: the last half of an inning of baseball f: the bass or baritone instruments of a band5: bottomland —usually used in plural6: basis, source <trying to get to the bottom of these rumors>7: capacity (as of a horse) to endure strain8: a foundation color applied to textile fibers before dyeing9: a fundamental quark that accounts for the existence and lifetime of upsilon particles and has an electric charge of −¹⁄₃ and a measured energy of approximately 5 GeV ; also : the flavor characterizing this particle

— bot·tomed \-təmd\ adjective

— at bottom

: really, basically