The lowest floor of a building, partly or completely below ground level. It is often used for storage, utilities, or extra living space.
It comes from French “bassement,” from “bas,” meaning low. The word originally referred to the lowest part of a structure.
A basement is literally the “lowest part,” built into the idea of the word. It’s the hidden under-layer of a building, where all the quiet work—pipes, wires, storage—often happens out of sight.
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