English word bass comes from Proto-Indo-European *bharst-, Ancient Greek βάσις, Proto-Indo-European *bʰers-, Late Latin bassus, and later Old French bas (Low (near the ground).)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *bharst- | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| βάσις | Ancient Greek (grc) | |
| *bʰers- | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| bassus | Late Latin (LL) | |
| basis | Latin (lat) | (architecture) The lowest part of the shaft of a column.. (grammar) The primitive word, root.. (of cattle) A track, footprint.. A pedestal, foot, base; basis, foundation. |
| *bʰórsos | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| bas | Old French (fro) | Low (near the ground). |
| base | Old French (fro) | Base (bottom part; supporting part). |
| *barsaz | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | A fish, perch. |
| bærs | Old English (ang) | |
| bars | Middle English (enm) | |
| baas | Middle English (enm) | |
| bass | English (en) | The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes. |