Forms: 4 abesse; 5 abesse; 6 abace, adbass, abbase; 6– abase. [ad. OFr. abaiss-ier, abeiss-ier, abess-ier, abes-ier (mod. Fr. abaisser), f. à to + baissier to lower:—late L. *bassāre f. bass-us ‘short or low of stature’ (in Papias = curtus, humilis, but in Isidore = crassus, pinguis); also a surname in early Lat. The regular mod. repr. of OFr. abaissier, abessier, ME. abesse, would be abease, abeace (cf. ease, lease, grease, peace); the actual abase is due to the influence of base adj. Must be distinguished from early and northern forms of ABASH; of which abayss, abaisse, abasse became by phonetic change abash, before abesse (by influence of base) became abase; but in the north, where s was not changed to sh, abaisse, abase, = abash are found contemporary with southern abase the present vb.]
1. To lower (physically), depress, bring or cast down. arch.
1477. Caxton, Jason, 10. And peleus … began to abasse and hange doun his heed.
1589. Puttenham, Engl. Poesie (1811), III. xxiv. 246. Their seruitours, speaking or being spoken vnto, abbase their eyes in token of lowlines.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., I. ii. 247. And will she yet abase her eyes on me?
1596. Spenser, F. Q., II. i. 26. Suddeinly that warriour gan abace His threatned speare.
1671. Salmon, Syn. Medic., III. xxii. 405. It abaseth inflamations and Feavers wonderfully.
1676. Phil. Trans., XI. 680. A Pump … whose Sucker … is raised and abased by two Levers.
1870. J. R. Lowell, Among my Books, Ser. II (1873), 323. Its delectable mountains which night shall utterly abase and destroy.
2. To lower in rank, office, condition, or character; to humble, humiliate; often with the sense of degrade, make base.
1393. Gower, Conf., I. 111. Our king hath do this thing amis, So to abesse his roialte.
1539. Bp. Tonstall, Sermon on Palme sondaye (1823), 1. He dyd abase hym selfe, takynge vpon hym the fourme of a seruant.
1605. Bacon, Adv. Learn., I. 16. The grosse and palpable flatterie, whereunto many have abassed & abused their wits and pens.
a. 1762. Lady M. W. Montagu, Letters, lix. 79. Heaven … you know delights in abasing the proud.
1834. Disraeli, Rev. Epick., I. xl. 66.
| To level not to raise, is all their end. | |
| Where all are equal, all must be abased! |
1876. Freeman, Norm. Conq., I. App. 620. This famous refusal of Rolf to abase himself.
† 3. To lower in price or value, to depreciate, debase (coin). Obs.
1569. Grafton, Chron. Ed. VI., an. 5, 1316. The peece of ix pence was abaced to sixpence.
a. 1656. Hales, Golden Remains, Ser. I (1673), 14. If He that abases the prince’s coin deserves to die.
1669. Child, Disc. Trade, 244 (ed. 4). The charge of mending our land would be doubled, and the land abased to seven or eight years purchase.
1736. Carte, Life of Ormonde, I. 12. The standard of it [the coin] which had been much abased in the time of her father Henry VIII.
