basil.
A plant (Ocimum basilicum).
Meaning & usage
A plant (Ocimum basilicum).
The leaves of this plant used as a herb.
Any other species in the genus Ocimum.
Where this word comes from
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.
The angle to which a joiner's tool is ground away.
Where this word comes from
Variant of bezel.
To grind the edge of a tool to an acute angle.
Where this word comes from
Variant of bezel.
The skin of a sheep tanned with bark.
Where this word comes from
Corrupted from English basan, from French basane, from Late Latin basanium, from Arabic بِطانَة (biṭāna, “lining”).
A type of cannon.
A fetter fastened round the ankle of a prisoner.
Where this word comes from
From Old French basile (“basilisk”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.