basil

See also: Basil and BASIL

English

Ocimum basilicum

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈbæz.əl/
    • Audio (UK):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æzəl
    • Homophone: Basil
  • (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbeɪ.zəl/
    • Rhymes: -eɪzəl

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English basile, from Middle French basile, from Old French basile, from Medieval Latin basilicum, from Ancient Greek βασιλικόν (basilikón, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”). Doublet of basilic, basilicon, and basilicum; further related to basileus, basilean, and basileiolatry.

Noun

basil (usually uncountable, plural basils)

  2. A plant (Ocimum basilicum).
    Synonyms: sweet basil, St. Joseph's wort, common basil, American dittany, great basil
  4. The leaves of this plant used as a herb.
    Synonym: sweet basil
  5. Any other species in the genus Ocimum.
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → Indonesian: basil
Translations

Further reading

Etymology 2

Variant of bezel.

Noun

basil (plural basils)

  1. The angle to which a joiner's tool is ground away.
    • 1678 April 11 – May 11 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Moxon, “Numb[er] IV. The Art of Joynery.”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The Doctrine of Handy-Works, […], volume I, London: […] Joseph Moxon, published 1678, →OCLC, § 10 (Of Grinding and Whetting the Iron, and Other Edge-tools), pages 71–72:
      [H]old the edge of your Iron upvvards in your left hand and your VVhet-ſtone in your right, and having firſt ſpit upon your Stone to vvet it, apply it to the Baſil of your Iron, in ſuch a Poſition that it may bear upon the vvhole bredth of the Baſil; and ſo vvorking the Stone over the Baſil, you vvill quickly vvear the courſer grating of the Grind ſtone off the edge on that ſide: […]

Verb

basil (third-person singular simple present basils, present participle (US) basiling or (UK) basilling, simple past and past participle (US) basiled or (UK) basilled)

  2. (transitive) To grind the edge of a tool to an acute angle.
    • 1972, Alex W[inkler] Bealer, “Chiseling”, in Old Ways of Working Wood, Barre, Mass.: Barre Publishing Company, Inc., published March 1976 (2nd printing), →ISBN, page 148:
      These usually large chisels may have the edge basiled on either the inside or the outside of the 90° angle of the blade.
Synonyms

Etymology 3

Corrupted from English basan, from French basane, from Late Latin basanium, from Arabic بِطانَة (biṭāna, “lining”).

Noun

basil (plural basils)

  1. The skin of a sheep tanned with bark.
    • 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861:
      Each sleeper has for covering a large basil (dressed sheep-skin), such as cobblers use for aprons. As they lie in long rows, in the most profound repose, with these dark brown wrappers about them, they present the uniform look and arrangement of a long line of mummies.
Synonyms

Etymology 4

From Old French basile (“basilisk”).

Noun

basil (plural basils)

  1. (obsolete) A type of cannon.
  2. (now historical, archaic) A fetter fastened round the ankle of a prisoner.
    • 2001, Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish, Vintage, published 2016, page 49:
      When I once more feel that sharp smarting around the scabby sores that cluster like so many oysters on my ankles beneath my chained iron basils, I know that the tide has turned.

Anagrams

Indonesian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbasɪl]
  • Hyphenation: ba‧sil

Etymology 1

From Dutch bacil, from French bacille, from German Bazillus or taxonomic name Bacillus, coined by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.

Noun

basil

  1. bacillus

Etymology 2

From English basil, from Old French basile, from Medieval Latin basilicum, from Ancient Greek βασιλικόν (basilikón, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”).

Noun

basil

  1. basil (Ocimum basilicum)
    Synonym: selasih
Derived terms
  • daun selasih

Further reading

Tagalog

Etymology

Compare Hanunoo basol and Cebuano basol.

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈbasil/ [ˈbaː.sɪl]
  • Rhymes: -asil
  • Syllabification: ba‧sil

Noun

basil (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜐᜒᜎ᜔) (now dialectal, chiefly Quezon)

  1. caterpillar
    Synonyms: higad, tilas, (Cavite, Rizal) simutsang, (Cavite) mutsang-mutsang, (dialectal, Quezon) alibasoy, katerpilar

Further reading

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