base
base.
1. Anything on which an object rests, the term is given primarily to the foot or lowest member of a colonnette, column, or pier on which the shaft or mass of construction sits. The base of a column is therefore that part between the bottom of the shaft and the pavement, pedestal, or plinth. Bases differ according to the Order used, although the Attic base is commonly used on all Orders except the Greek Doric (which has no base) and the Tuscan (except in impure Tuscan Orders). Greek Ionic Asiatic bases are embellished with horizontal reeds and other mouldings. Typical bases of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite Orders are also referred to by the term spira. Bases of pilasters are usually identical to those of the columns used in the same portico or building, and may continue with the same profile when used as a continuous skirting or wallbase, but the bases of antae may differ (though not usually). Medieval bases have far greater variety: pier bases, for example, are invariably set on a circular, polygonal, or square plinth, and have many mouldings.
2. Lowest, thickest part of a wall, such as a plinth or a skirting, or the lowest visible element of a building, like a platform, plinth, or podium called the basement.
1. Anything on which an object rests, the term is given primarily to the foot or lowest member of a colonnette, column, or pier on which the shaft or mass of construction sits. The base of a column is therefore that part between the bottom of the shaft and the pavement, pedestal, or plinth. Bases differ according to the Order used, although the Attic base is commonly used on all Orders except the Greek Doric (which has no base) and the Tuscan (except in impure Tuscan Orders). Greek Ionic Asiatic bases are embellished with horizontal reeds and other mouldings. Typical bases of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite Orders are also referred to by the term spira. Bases of pilasters are usually identical to those of the columns used in the same portico or building, and may continue with the same profile when used as a continuous skirting or wallbase, but the bases of antae may differ (though not usually). Medieval bases have far greater variety: pier bases, for example, are invariably set on a circular, polygonal, or square plinth, and have many mouldings.
2. Lowest, thickest part of a wall, such as a plinth or a skirting, or the lowest visible element of a building, like a platform, plinth, or podium called the basement.
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