basilique

French

Basilique Saint-Marc, Venise

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin basilica, from Ancient Greek βασιλική (basilikḗ). Compare the inherited doublet basoche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.zi.lik/

• Audio

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Noun

basilique f (plural basiliques)

1. (Antiquity) covered building, Civil reunion place open to the public
2. (architecture) a Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory
3. a Roman Catholic church or cathedral with basilican status, an honorific status granted by the pope to recognize its historical, architectural, or sacramental importance

Synonyms

(place of christian prayer): basilica

Further reading

• “basilique”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos).

Noun

basilique oblique singular, m (oblique plural basiliques, nominative singular basiliques, nominative plural basilique)

1. basilisk (legendary reptile)
2. basil (herb)

Descendants

• → Middle English: basilicke, basilisk, basiliske, basylyk, basylyke
  • English: basilisk
• French: basilic

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (basilic, supplement)