basil

See also: Basil and BASIL

English

Ocimum basilicum

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbæz.əl/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -æzəl
  • Homophone: Basil
• (Canada, US) 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

• Asian basil (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora)
• basil balm (Monarda clinopodia etc.)
• basiled
• basil thyme (Acinos arvensis, syn. Calamintha acinos)
• basilweed
• common basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• field basil (Clinopodium vulgare, Pycnanthemum virginianum, etc.)
• hoary basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
• holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
• Lao basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
• lemon basil (Ocimum × africanum)
• purple basil (Ocimum basilicum purpureum)
• sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora)
• wild basil (Clinopodium vulgare, Pycnanthemum virginianum, etc.)

 

Descendants

• → Indonesian: basil

Translations

plant

• Albanian: borzilok (sq) m
• Arabic: رَيْحَان m (rayḥān), حَبَق m (ḥabaq)

  Egyptian Arabic: ريحان m (rayḥān)

  Hijazi Arabic: ريحان m (rēḥān)

  Moroccan Arabic: حبق m (ḥbaq)

• Armenian: ռեհան (hy) (ṙehan)
• Asturian: albahaca f
• Azerbaijani: reyhan
• Basque: albaka
• Bulgarian: босилек (bg) (bosilek)
• Burmese: ပင်စိမ်းမွှေး (pangcim:hmwe:), ပင်စိမ်း (my) (pangcim:)
• Catalan: alfàbrega (ca) f, alfàbega (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 羅勒 / 罗勒 (lo⁴ lak⁶)

  Mandarin: 羅勒 / 罗勒 (zh) (luólè)

• Czech: bazalka (cs) f
• Danish: basilikum c
• Dutch: basilicum (nl) m, bazielkruid (nl) n, koningskruid n, basiliekruid n
• Esperanto: bazilio, ocimo
• Estonian: basiilik (et)
• Finnish: basilika (fi)
• French: basilic (fr) m
• Galician: alfábega (gl) f, monforadiña f
• Gallurese: basgiricò
• Georgian: რეჰანი (ka) (rehani), შაშკვლავი (šašḳvlavi)
• German: Basilikum (de)
• Greek: βασιλικός (el) m (vasilikós)

  Ancient: ὤκιμον n (ṓkimon)

• Hebrew: רֵיחָן (he) m (rēḥán), בָּזִילִיקוּם (he) m (bazíliqum)
• Hindi: मीठा तुलसी f (mīṭhā tulsī)
• Hungarian: bazsalikom (hu)
• Hunsrik: Manschërikong m
• Icelandic: basilíka
• Irish: basal
• Italian: basilico (it) m
• Japanese: バジル (ja) (bajiru), バジリコ (ja) (bajiriko), 目箒 (ja) (めぼうき, mebōki)
• Korean: 바질 (bajil)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ڕێحانە (rêḧane)

• Ladino: alhavaka f, bazíliko, aljavaka
• Latin: ōcimum n
• Latvian: baziliks m
• Macedonian: босилок m (bosilok), босилек m (bosilek)
• Malay: selasih
• Maltese: ħabaq
• Maori: pātira
• Marathi: तुळस f (tuḷas)
• Neapolitan: vasinicola
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: basilikum (no) m, basilik m

  Nynorsk: basilikum m

• Old English: eorþmistel m
• Persian: ریحان (fa) (reyhân), شاهسپرم (fa) (šâhesparam)
• Polish: bazylia (pl) f
• Portuguese: manjericão (pt), alfavaca (pt) f, basílico (pt) m
• Romanian: busuioc (ro) m
• Russian: базили́к (ru) m (bazilík)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: affàbbica, brasìle

  Logudorese: basìle, affàbbica

• Sassarese: basìri
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: босиљак m

  Roman: bosiljak (sh) m

• Sicilian: basilicò (scn) m, bacilicò (scn)
• Slovak: bazalka (sk) f
• Slovene: bazilika (sl) f
• Spanish: albahaca (es) f
• Svan: შაშკვლავ (šašḳvlav)
• Swahili: mrehani
• Swedish: basilika (sv) c
• Tagalog: albahaka, balanoy, solasi
• Telugu: తులసి (te) (tulasi)
• Ternate: sulasi
• Thai: กะเพรา (th) (gà-prao)
• Turkish: fesleğen (tr), reyhan (tr)
• Udi: ираьгьаьн (irähän)
• Urdu: تلسی f (tulsī)
• Venetan: basegò m
• Vietnamese: húng tây
• Welsh: brenhinllys m

herb

• Arabic: رَيْحَان m (rayḥān), حَبَق m (ḥabaq)

  Egyptian Arabic: ريحان m (rēḥān)

  Hijazi Arabic: ريحان m (rēḥān)

  Moroccan Arabic: حبق m (ḥbaq)

• Armenian: ռեհան (hy) (ṙehan)
• Asturian: albahaca f
• Azerbaijani: reyhan
• Basque: albaka
• Bengali: সাদা তুলসী (śada tulośi), বাবুই তুলসী (babui tulośi), দুলাল তুলসী (dulal tulośi), গুলাল (bn) (gulal)
• Bulgarian: босилек (bg) (bosilek)
• Catalan: alfàbrega (ca) f, alfàbega (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 羅勒 / 罗勒 (lo⁴ lak⁶)

  Mandarin: 羅勒 / 罗勒 (zh) (luólè)

• Czech: bazalka (cs) f
• Danish: basilikum c
• Dutch: basilicum (nl) m, basilicumblaadjes n
• Esperanto: bazilio, ocimo
• Estonian: basiilik (et)
• Finnish: basilika (fi)
• French: basilic (fr) m
• Galician: alfábega (gl) f
• Georgian: რეჰანი (ka) (rehani)
• German: Basilikum (de) m
• Greek: βασιλικός (el) m (vasilikós)

  Ancient: ὤκιμον n (ṓkimon)

• Hebrew: בזיליקום (he), ריחן (he)
• Hindi: मीठा तुलसी f (mīṭhā tulsī)
• Hungarian: bazsalikom (hu)
• Hunsrik: Manschërikong m
• Irish: basal m
• Italian: basilico (it) m
• Japanese: バジル (ja) (bajiru)
• Korean: 바질 (bajil)
• Ladino: aljavaka
• Latin: ōcimum n
• Macedonian: босилок m (bosilok), босилек m (bosilek)
• Maltese: ħabaq
• Maori: pātira
• Marathi: तुळस f (tuḷas)
• Neapolitan: vasinicola
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: basilikum (no) m, basilik m

  Nynorsk: basilikum m

• Persian: ریحان (fa) (reyhân)
• Polish: bazylia (pl) f
• Portuguese: manjericão (pt) m, alfavaca (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਤੁਲਸੀ f (tulasī), ਨਿਆਜ਼ਬੋ (niāzabo)
• Romanian: busuioc (ro) m
• Russian: базили́к (ru) m (bazilík)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: affàbbica, brasìle

  Logudorese: basìle, affàbbica

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: босиљак m

  Roman: bosiljak (sh) m

• Sicilian: basilicò (scn) m
• Slovene: bazilika (sl) f
• Spanish: albahaca (es) f
• Swedish: basilika (sv) c
• Tagalog: albahaka, balanoy, solasi
• Thai: กะเพรา (th) (gà-prao)
• Turkish: fesleğen (tr), reyhan (tr)
• Udi: ираьгьаьн (irähän)
• Urdu: تلسی f (tulsī)
• Welsh: brenhinllys m, basil m

plant of the genus Ocimum

• Finnish: basilika (fi)

Further reading

• basil on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Ocimum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Ocimum on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

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 basilling, simple past and past participle basilled)

1. (transitive) To grind the edge of a tool to an acute angle.

Synonyms

• bevel, sharpen

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.

Synonyms

• basan, bazil

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

• sabil, Sibal, Blais, Salib, Bails, labis, Balis, Blasi, bails

Indonesian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Dutch bacil, from French bacille, from German Bazillus or translingual 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

• “basil” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.