Reconstruction:Latin/bassius

Etymology
Variant form of, likely influenced by the related verb. Alternatively, from reinterpretation of a neuter comparative * originally used adverbially or prepositionally.

Adjective

 * 1) low, short

Reconstruction notes
The descendants take the forms of adjectives, but may be used as adjectives, adverbs or prepositions. In the majority of the languages listed below, it was not regular for final /s/ to be lost, which means the adverbial and prepositional uses of e.g. Spanish cannot descend directly from the comparative form * reconstructed by Fagard; rather, they would have to reflect a further change where the neuter comparative accusative ending -ius was altered to end in -um, the non-comparative masculine and neuter accusative ending.