A-bāse', v. t.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. ABASED; p. pr. & vb. n. ABASING.] [Fr. abaisser, Pr. abaissar, It. abbassare, Sp. abajar, Pg. abaxar, abaixar, L. Lat. abassare and abbassare: Fr. baisser, Pr. baissar, It. bassare, Sp. bajar, Pg. baxar, baixar; Fr., Pr. bas, It. basso, Sp. bajo, Pg. baixo, L. Lat. bassus; — from Lat. and Gr. basis, base. Cf. Gr. βίσσων, deeper, and W. bas, shallow. See BASE, a. 1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down. “To abase the eye.” Bacon. [Rare.] His spear he 'gan abase. Spenser. 2. To cast down; to reduce low; to depress; to humble; to degrade; — applied chiefly to the passions, rank, office, and condition in life. Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. Matt. xxii. 12. Syn.—To depress; humble; degrade; bring low; debase; cast down. — To ABASE, DEBASE, DEGRADE. These words agree in the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in condition or feelings; as, to abase the proud, to abase one's self before God. Debase has reference to the bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base. It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense; as, to debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing down from some higher grade or degree of elevation. Thus, a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in character and just estimation; as, degraded by intemperance, a degrading employment, &c. In geology, degrade has the sense of bringing down physically; as, the rocks were degraded by the action of the elements. — The nouns abasement, debasement, degradation, follow the distinctions of their verbs as given above.