Definition of "basal" []

• Of, relating to, located at, or forming a base. (adjective)
• Botany Located at or near the base of a plant stem, or at the base of any other plant part: basal placentation. (adjective)
• Of primary importance; basic. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Does the term basal tear excite your sympathy, or reflex tear ignite a shower of certain understanding?"
• "In time, a slow and steady rise in basal cell calcium levels leads to activation of calcineurin, which in turn leads to nuclear importation of the transcription factor NFAT (Nuclear Factor of T-cells)."
• "Furthermore, while the cochleal canal is shorter, and the promontorium is smaller, in basal mammaliaforms than is the case in mammals (Luo et al. 1995), Morganucodon in more mammal-like in these features than are more basal mammaliaforms (like Sinoconodon)."