Meaning

verb corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality

verb lower in value by increasing the base-metal content

verb corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones

originFrom de- + base, from Old French bas, from Latin bassus. Cognate with Spanish debajo (“under, beneath, below”). Compare abase.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0