basiliscus

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos), diminutive of βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ba.siˈlis.kus/, [bäs̠ɪˈlʲɪs̠kʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ba.siˈlis.kus/, [bäs̬iˈliskus]

Noun

basiliscus m (genitive basiliscī); second declension

1. a basilisk or cockatrice

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	basiliscus	basiliscī
Genitive	basiliscī	basiliscōrum
Dative	basiliscō	basiliscīs
Accusative	basiliscum	basiliscōs
Ablative	basiliscō	basiliscīs
Vocative	basilisce	basiliscī

Descendants

• English: basilisk
• French: basilic
• Italian: basilisco
• Portuguese: basilisco
• Spanish: basilisco

References

• “basiliscus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• basiliscus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• basiliscus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “basiliscus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “basiliscus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray