abase

Etymology

Came into English as Late Middle English abaishen, abashen, abaisse, abassen, abesse, abessen ("to be upset; to embarrass; to surprise; to confound; to bend down, stoop; to abase, degrade, disgrace"), from Middle French abaisser, which developed from Old French abaissier, abessier ("to prostrate oneself; to lower, reduce") (compare also Old French esbahir ("to amaze") and Vulgar Latin abbassiāre ("to lower")). This was made up of a- (a prefix indicating movement towards something, from Latin ad ("toward, to"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ("at, to")) and baissier ("to lower") (from Medieval Latin bassus ("short of stature, low; base"), possibly from Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs, "foot; base, foundation"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ("to step")). The English spelling has been shaped by base, so the word can be read as a- ("towards") and base. Verb cognates exist in other Gallo-Romance languages, such as Catalan abaixar ("lower; abase") and Occitan abaissar, with similar formations in other Romance languages, such as Spanish abajo ("down, downstairs; below").