English
contrabasso
Contrabasso comes from Italian contrabbasso ‘double bass’, from basso ‘short (in height)’, and ultimately from Late Latin bassus.
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbassus‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbasso‘short (in height)’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcontrabbasso‘double bass’
- Englishtodaycontrabasso
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbassus‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
- Italianc. 1300–presentbasso‘short (in height)’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcontrabbasso‘double bass’
- Englishtodaycontrabasso
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘step’
come, coming, event, revenue, avenue, adventure, venue, convention, cum, diabetes, inventory, convenience, intervene, advent, inventor, invent, souvenir, provenance, pug, convene, revenant, circumvention, contravention, quim, contravene, 51 more
through Proto-Hellenic *gʷə́tis ‘step’
through Ancient Greek βάσις ‘stepping, step’
through Late Latin bassus ‘thick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base’
through Italian basso ‘short (in height)’
Today it means
noun The largest kind of bass viol.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Late Latin bassus / contrabasso