Definition of abase
abased
;abasing
transitive verb
1 formal : to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem abase oneself … the shame that had abased him within and without … — James Joyce
2 archaic : to lower physically As we enter among them the great elephant makes us a bow in the best style of elephantine courtesy, bending lowly down his mountain bulk, with trunk abased and leg thrust out behind. — Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Origin and Etymology of abase
alteration (conformed to 3base) of Middle English abessen, abaisen, abaschen, borrowed from Anglo-French abesser, abaisser, from a-, prefix in transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad-) + -besser, going back to Vulgar Latin *bassiāre “to lower,” derivative of Late Latin bassus “fat, short, low” — more at ad-, 3base
First Known Use: 14th century
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