basil

Meanings

Noun

• A plant (Ocimum basilicum).
• The leaves of this plant used as a herb.
• Any other species in the genus Ocimum.
• The angle to which a joiner's tool is ground away.
• The skin of a sheep tanned with bark.

Verb

• To grind the edge of a tool to an acute angle.

Related

Similar words

• albahaca, St. Joseph's wort, sweet basil
• bevel, sharpen
• basan, bazil

Origin

• From Old French basile, from Medieval Latin basilicum, from Ancient Greek βασιλικόν ("royal"), from βασιλεύς.
• Variant of bezel.
• Corrupted from English basan, from French basane, from Late Latin basanium, from Arabic بِطانَة ("lining").