Having a dishonorable, cowardly, or morally corrupt character; lacking courage or integrity.
From base (of low character, from Old French bas meaning low) + hearted (having a specified kind of heart or character). This compound adjective reflects medieval and Early Modern beliefs that moral character was located in the heart.
Shakespeare used words like this to insult his characters—calling someone 'basehearted' was saying their actual heart was defective, not just their actions, which shows how people once saw personality as literally rooted in your body's organs.
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