Baselayer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The first layer applied directly onto a surface to prepare it for later coatings ; a first coat of paint or primer laid down before the finish ; a close-fitting garment worn next to the skin beneath other clothing
2. A foundational layer spread onto a surface as preparation ; an initial coat of primer or paint applied before topcoats ; an undergarment worn against the body under outer clothes
3. The base coating put on a surface to prepare it for what follows ; the first application of paint or primer on a surface ; a thin garment worn directly on the skin under other layers

Etymology: "Baselayer" is a plain compound of two English words: "base," meaning the foundation or lowest part of something, and "layer," a thickness of material laid over or under another. Put together, the term names the first coat applied to a surface, the layer that everything else sits on. The "base" half comes from Old French "bas," meaning low, which is also the source of "base" in the sense of unworthy, a link that the modern word has largely left behind. The word's most familiar use today is in clothing, where a baselayer is the close-fitting garment worn next to the skin under other clothes, with the job of wicking sweat away. The sense of a first coat of paint, primer or foundation is the older and more literal one, and the clothing use extends the same idea: the foundation beneath everything else.

Synonyms: underlayer