Basil

How to spell basil

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce basil

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does basil mean?

1. nounAn aromatic herb of the mint family, used fresh or dried to flavour cooking.

Basil in a sentence

• She scattered torn basil over the tomato salad.

• The recipe calls for fresh basil rather than the dried kind.

Where does basil come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek basilikon, meaning 'royal', which was itself built on basileus, the ordinary Greek word for 'king'. The herb earned that lofty name because the ancient Greeks regarded it as fit for royalty, possibly tied to use in a king's medicine or perfume. The Greek form passed into Latin as basilicum, then into Old French as basile, before English adopted it in the medieval period. The very same basileus root sits inside 'basilica', originally a royal hall, which is a handy clue that the spelling keeps the single 's' and the unexpected 'il' ending rather than the 'le' that the ear suggests. So although it now names a humble kitchen herb, its name literally crowns it as the king of plants.

How the word is built

• basil (from Greek basilikon 'royal'); a single root with no prefix or suffix