basal

basal
    adj 1: especially of leaves; located at the base of a plant or
           stem; especially arising directly from the root or
           rootstock or a root-like stem; "basal placentation";
           "radical leaves" [syn: {radical}, {basal}] [ant:
           {cauline}]
    2: serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base
       coat followed by two finishing coats" [syn: {basal}, {base}]
    3: of primary importance [syn: {basal}, {primary}]
    

Basal \Ba"sal\, a.
   Relating to, or forming, the base.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Basal cleavage}. See under {Cleavage}.

   {Basal plane} (Crystallog.), a plane parallel to the lateral
      or horizontal axis.
      [1913 Webster]
    

45 Moby Thesaurus words for "basal":
      ab ovo, aboriginal, basic, basilar, beginning, bottom, bottommost,
      central, constituent, constitutive, crucial, elemental, elementary,
      embryonic, essential, foundational, fundamental, generative,
      genetic, germinal, gut, in embryo, in ovo, lowermost, lowest,
      material, nethermost, of the essence, original, pregnant, primal,
      primary, primeval, primitive, primordial, pristine, protogenic,
      radical, rudimental, rudimentary, seminal, substantial,
      substantive, underlying, undermost