bass: Bass the fish [15] and bass the musical term [15] are of course completely unrelated words, with different pronunciations. Bass meaning ‘of the lowest register’ is simply a modified spelling of the adjective base, under the influence of Italian basso. Related words are bassoon [18], from French basson, and basset-horn [19], a partial translation of Italian corno di bassetto, literally ‘bass horn’.
The bass is a spiny-finned fish, and it may be that its name is related to Old English byrst ‘bristle’. The Old English term for the fish was bærs, which survived dialectally until the 19th century in the form barse, and it is thought that it goes back to a Germanic base *bars- (source of German barsch); this may be cognate with *bors-, from which Old English byrst came.
In the 15th century, barse underwent some sort of phonetic mutation to produce bass. => base, bassoon
bass (adj.)
late 14c., of things, "low, not high," from Late Latin bassus "short, low" (see base (adj.)). Meaning "low in social scale or rank" is recorded from late 14c. Of voices and music notes, from mid-15c. (technically, ranging from the E flat below the bass stave to the F above it), infuenced by Italian basso. Meaning "lowest part of a harmonized musical composition" is from mid-15c. Meaning "bass-viol" is from 1702; that of "double-bass" is from 1927.
bass (n.)
freshwater fish, c. 1400 corruption of Middle English baers, from Old English bærs "a fish, perch," from Proto-Germanic base *bars- "sharp" (cognates: Middle Dutch baerse, Middle High German bars, German Barsch "perch," German barsch "rough"), from PIE root *bhar- "point, bristle" (see bristle (n.)). The fish was so called for its dorsal fins. For loss of -r-, see ass (n.2).
双语例句
1. Kurt had started out playing bass in a rock band.
库尔特起初在一个摇滚乐队弹低音吉他。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She was backed by acoustic guitar, bass and congas.
原声吉他、贝斯和康茄鼓为她伴奏。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The songs were arranged by another well-known bass player, Ron Carter.
另一位著名的低音提琴演奏家罗恩·卡特改编了这些歌曲。
来自柯林斯例句
4. At school he played bass in a pop group called The Urge.
他上学的时候在一个叫“冲动”的流行乐队中担任贝司手。
来自柯林斯例句
5. They had a bass and a piano and a sax and percussion.
