basilicus

Latin

Etymology

    Borrowed from Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκός (băsĭlĭkós, royal).

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    basilicus (feminine basilica, neuter basilicum, adverb basilicē); first/second-declension adjective

    1. (Plautine, Old Latin) royal, princely
      Synonym: rēgālis
      • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 4.2.31–32:
        Basilicas edictiones atque imperiosas habet:
        satur homost, habet profecto in ventre confidentiam.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      • c. 211 BCE, Plautus, Rudens 2.4.18:
        At ego basilicus sum: quem nisi oras, guttam non feres.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      • c. 195 BCE, Plautus, Trinummus 4.3.23–24:
        Di immortales, basilica hic quidem facinora inceptat loqui.
        Vetera quaerit, vetera amare hunc more maiorum scias.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    2. especially, in names of species or medicines:
      1. basilica vītis
        • 4 CEc. 70 CE, Columella, De Re Rustica 3.2.19:
          Possunt tamen etiam secundae notae vites proventu et ubertate commendari, qualis est Biturica, qualis basilica, quarum minorem cocolubem vocant Hispani, longe omnium primis utraeque proximae.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      2. basilicus nux
        • c. 431 CE, Macrobius, Saturnalia 3.18.7:
          Nam vir doctus Oppius in libro quem fecit de silvestribus p345 arboribus sic ait: 'Heracleotica haec nux, quam quidam cataneam nominant, itemque Pontica nux atque etiam quae dicuntur basilicae iuglandes germina atque flores agunt similiter isdem temporibus quibus Graecae nuces.'
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      3. basilicus collȳrium
        • c. 25 BCEc. 50 CE, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De medicina 6.31b:
          Verum in basilico quoque collyrio convenit ad omnes affectus oculorum id esse idoneum, qui non lenibus medicamentis curantur.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    3. (nominalized, masculine) Ellipsis of basilicus iactus: one of the best throw at the dice (its exact value is unknown)
      Coordinate terms: canīcula, canis, vulturius, Venus; bīniō, terniō, quaterniō, quīniō, sēniō
      • c. 190 BCE, Plautus, Curculio 2.3.78–80:
        Iacit volturios quattuor.
        Talos arripio, invoco almam meam nutricem Herculem,
        iacto basilicum; []
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

    Declension

    First/second-declension adjective.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative basilicus basilica basilicum basilicī basilicae basilica
    genitive basilicī basilicae basilicī basilicōrum basilicārum basilicōrum
    dative basilicō basilicae basilicō basilicīs
    accusative basilicum basilicam basilicum basilicōs basilicās basilica
    ablative basilicō basilicā basilicō basilicīs
    vocative basilice basilica basilicum basilicī basilicae basilica

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    • basilicus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • basilicus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.