Everyday LifeGreek → English
Basil
/ˈbæzəl/noun
An aromatic herb with soft green leaves, used fresh in Mediterranean and Southeast Asian cooking.
The Greek roots
βασιλικόν
basilikón
royal (herb)
Literally: “royal herb”
Follow a root:βασιλικόν1 word
The story of the word
The plant was the king's herb, basilikón, from basileús, king, and Greek sources connect it with royal ointment. The same king gives basilica, which started as a royal hall and ended as a church, and basilisk, the little king of serpents. Medieval writers who mixed the two claimed basil sprang up wherever a basilisk had died. In Greece it is still grown by the door and dipped in holy water more often than in olive oil.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 15th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
basilicabasilisk
In a sentence
She tore the basil rather than cutting it, which the recipe insisted on.