Basilus

Latin

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈba.sɪ.ɫʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbaː.s̬i.lus]

Proper noun

Basilus m (genitive Basilī); second declension

1. a Roman nomen gentile, gens or "family name"
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 6.29:

     Ipse, cum maturescere frumenta inciperent, ad bellum Ambiorigis profectus per Arduennam silvam, quae est totius Galliae maxima atque ab ripis Rheni finibusque Treverorum ad Nervios pertinet milibusque amplius quingentis in longitudinem patet, Lucium Minucium Basilum cum omni equitatu praemittit, si quid celeritate itineris atque opportunitate temporis proficere possit;

     He himself, when the corn began to ripen, having set forth for the war with Ambiorix (through the forest Arduenna, which is the largest of all Gaul, and reaches from the banks of the Rhine and the frontiers of the Treviri to those of the Nervii, and extends over more than 500 miles), he sends forward L. Minucius Basilus with all the cavalry, to try if he might gain any advantage by rapid marches and the advantage of time.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	Basilus	Basilī
genitive	Basilī	Basilōrum
dative	Basilō	Basilīs
accusative	Basilum	Basilōs
ablative	Basilō	Basilīs
vocative	Basile	Basilī

References

• “Basilus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.