An Entry Tuesday, June 16, 2026
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Entry · Tuesday, June 16, 2026

A double bass made by Niccolò Amati in Cremona in 1670, on display in a marble interior.

Plate XXXIX. A double bass made by Niccolò Amati in Cremona in 1670, on display in a marble interior.

Photo by Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Double Bass

/DUB-ul bayss/  n.
  1. 1. The largest and lowest-voiced member of the orchestral string family, standing roughly six feet in full playing position, whose upper bout, waist, and lower bout describe a silhouette that has caused more than one first-year conservatory student to briefly forget what they came to study.
  2. 2. slang. A stringed instrument that went to every rehearsal and did not skip a single one. She is wider at the hips than at the shoulders, and she has made her peace with that. Viewed from behind, in the low light of a jazz quintet, the conversation is over.
In a sentence:

"The bassist at the Blue Note session showed up with a thiccc double bass that took up its own corner of the stage, and the piano player quietly slid his bench two feet to the left. Nobody asked him to."

Etymology:

From Medieval Latin bassus ('low, short'), reinforced by Italian basso, combined with double (Old French doble, from Latin duplus, 'twofold'), indicating an instrument pitched an octave below the standard bass viol. The 'double' refers to the register. The width was not named because it was understood.

From the desk

Filed by

Teddy VanceJunior Cataloguer

The upper bout, waist, and lower bout describe a silhouette that stopped at least one conservatory student mid-thought, and that is a documented fact.

Ruling ADMITTED UNDER PROTEST

Bart PrussSenior Cataloguer

The width was not named because it was understood. That is the etymology's wording, not yours. The silhouette is on record. Admitted.

In the margin

Eliza HartwellStaff Writer

An instrument six feet tall with a waist and the piano player moved without being asked. The double bass did not even look up.

instrumentgirth

Frequently asked

Is a double bass thiccc?

Yes. Double Bass was admitted to the Thiccctionary on June 16, 2026 and filed in the Musical Instruments section. The ruling on file: Admitted under protest. Every subject in the catalogue is judged on its curves, not its size.

What makes a double bass thiccc?

A stringed instrument that went to every rehearsal and did not skip a single one. She is wider at the hips than at the shoulders, and she has made her peace with that. Viewed from behind, in the low light of a jazz quintet, the conversation is over.

Is "thiccc" spelled with three c's?

Yes. The Thiccctionary house spelling uses three c's, distinguishing the editorial register from the colloquial "thicc" (two c's) and standard "thick" (one c).

Sources

  1. Photograph by Didier Descouens (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Catalogued under plate XXXIX.
  2. Direct ruling URL: thiccctionary.com/is/double-bass-thiccc/, the shareable "Is a double bass thiccc?" page.
  3. Cross-reference: Thiccctionary A-Z, D.
  4. Catalogued under: Musical Instruments. See related entries below.
  5. Editorial review: ruled admitted under protest by the desk. Objections on file.

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