BASE

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 458 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BAR-BEC

BASE . (1) (Fr. bas,

Late

LATE

Lat. bassus, low; cf. Gr. f3aCbs) an adjective meaning low or deep, and so mean, worthless, or wicked. This sense of the word has sometimes affected the next, which is really distinct. (2) (Gr. Saves, strictly "stepping," and so a foundation or pedestal) a

term

TERM

for a foundation or starting point, used in various senses; in sports, e.g. hockey and baseball; in geometry, the line or face on which a figure or solid stands; in crystallography, e.g. " basal plane "; in surveying, in the " base line," an accurately measured distance between the points from which the survey is conducted; in heraldry, in the phrase " in base," applied to any figure or emblem placed in the lowest part of a shield.
In

chemistry

the

term

TERM

denotes a substance which combines with an acid to form a salt. In inorganic

chemistry

such compounds are almost invariably oxides or hydroxides, and water is eliminated during the combination; but in organic chemistry many compounds exist, especially ammonia derivatives, which directly combine with acids. Chemical bases are consequently antithetical to acids; and an acid is neutralized by a base with the production of a salt. They

reverse

REVERSE

certain colour reactions of acids, e.g. turn red litmus blue; this is termed an " alkaline reaction."
In architecture the " base " is the lowest member of a column or

shaft

. In Egyptian and Greek architecture it is the raised slab in stone or cement on which the primitive timber column was placed, to keep it dry. Afterwards it was always reproduced in

Egypt

EGYPT

, even although the column, being in stone, no longer required it; a custom probably retained because, being of a much larger circumference than the lower part of the column, it gave increased stability. In Assyrian architecture, where it served to carry wooden posts or columns, it took the form of a large torus moulding with enrichments. In Persian architecture the base was much higher than in any other style, and was elaborately carved. In primitive Greek

work

WORK

the base consisted of the stone plinth as found in

Crete

CRETE (Gr. Kp;rrrr; Turk. Kirid, Ital. Candia)

and Tiryns, and of three small steps at Mycenae. In archaic Greek

work

WORK

it has already disappeared in the Doric order, but in the Ionic and Corinthian orders it is more or less richly moulded, the most elaborate examples being those found in the temple of Apollo at Branchidae in Milesia. For the contour of the mouldings see ORDERS. The Roman orders all have the favourite

design

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

known as the Attic base. Romanesque bases were rude but vigorous copies of the old classic base, and were often decorated with projections or spurs (Fr. grijfes) at the angles of the square dies, thus connecting them with the square base. In the Early Englishstyle, these spurs followed the conventional

design

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

of the period, and about the same time the mouldings were deeply sunk and occasionally cut downwards, so that they would have held water if used externally. Later, the base becomes less bold in treatment, but much more complex in its contours, and in the 15th century is given an unusual height with two stages, the lower one constituting a kind of plinth, which is sometimes known as the ground table, or the base course.
A Bast COURT (Fr. basse tour, i.e. the lower court), is the first open space within the gates of a castle. It was used for exercising cavalry, and keeping live stock during a siege. (See ENCEINTE).

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