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bas·cule

(băskyl)

A device or structure, such as a drawbridge, counterbalanced so that when one end is lowered the other is raised.

[French, seesaw : bas, low (from Old French, from Medieval Latin bassus) + cul, bottom (from Old French, from Latin cūlus, rump; see (s)keu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

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bascule

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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