debasement

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English debase Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English debasement From debase + -ment.

1. The act of debasing or the state of being debased; a lowering or degradation, especially in character or quality.

   “His large water-dog was acquainted with the fact, and upon the approach of his master, betrayed his sense of inferiority by a sanctity of deportment, a debasement of the ears, and a dropping of the lower jaw not altogether unworthy of a dog.”

   “She had given herself to Darrow, and concealed the episode from Owen Leath, with no more apparent sense of debasement than the vulgarest of adventuresses.”

2. The lowering of the value of a currency by reducing the amount of valuable metal in the coins.