Basic

How to spell basic

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce basic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does basic mean?

1. adjectiveForming an essential foundation, or plain and without added features.
2. adjectiveHaving the properties of a base; alkaline, with a pH above seven.

Basic in a sentence

• The cheaper plan covers only the most basic features.

• The solution turned the litmus paper blue because it was basic.

• New staff first learn the basic skills of the job.

• Soap has a mildly basic chemistry that can irritate the eyes.

Where does basic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the Latin basis, meaning 'foundation' or 'pedestal', which the Romans themselves had borrowed from the Greek basis, literally 'a stepping' or 'that on which one stands', from the verb bainein 'to step or walk'. English took the noun 'base' through Old French in the medieval period, and the adjective 'basic' was coined much later, in the nineteenth century, by adding the productive ending '-ic' that signals 'relating to'. It first flourished in technical contexts, especially in chemistry, where a 'basic' substance is the opposite of acidic, before broadening into the everyday sense of 'fundamental' or 'plain and without extras'. The same Greek root for stepping also underlies 'basis' and even 'diabetes', a name that once described the body 'passing through' fluid. Because the word ends in the simple, common '-ic' rather than the tempting '-ick' of older English, the spelling is straightforward once you remember it follows the modern pattern.

How the word is built

• bas- (from base: foundation, bottom)
• -ic (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')