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Basil |
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| Pronunciation | BAZ-el, /ˈbæzɪl/ |
| Gender | Male |
| Meaning | "royal, kingly" |
| Origin | Greek |
| Related names | Basile, Basilic, Basilides, Basileios, Basilie, Basilio, Basilius, Bazeel, Bazeelius, Bazil, Bazyli, Vasil, Vasile, Vaseleos, Vasileos, Vasili, Vassili, Vasilije, Vasilios |
| Wikipedia articles | All pages beginning with Basil |
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Look up Basil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
The name 'Basil' (royal, kingly), pronounced as BAZ-el, IPA: /ˈbæzɪl/, has origins from the male Greek name Βασίλειος[1] (female version Bασιλική[2]) which first appeared during the Hellenistic period. It is derived from "basileus" (Greek: βασιλεύς) a Greek word of pre-Hellenic origin meaning "king", from which words such as basilica and basilisk (via Latin), as well as the eponymous herb (via Old French) derive, and the name of the Italian region Basilicata, which had been long under the rule of the Byzantine Emperor (also called basileus).
It was brought to England by the Crusaders, having been common in the eastern Mediterranean. It's more often used in Britain and Europe than in the US and is also the name of a common herb. In Arabic, the name means "brave". Different derived names in different languages include: Basile in French; Basilius in German; Basilio in Italian and Spanish and Vasil in Bulgarian and Albanian.
Basil has many variant forms: Basile, Basilic, Basilides, Basileios, Basilie, Basilio, Basilius, Bazeel, Bazeelius, Bazil, Bazyli, Vasil, Vasile, Vaseleos, Vasileos, Vasilije, Vasilios[3], Vasilios[4], Vasilius, Vasilus, Vassilis[5], Vasili, Vassili, Vasily, Vassilij, Vassily[6] and Wassily[7].
Contents |
People
As a first name
- Basil Acres, English professional footballer
- Basil Arthur, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985
- Basil Beattie, British artist, born in 1935 in West Hartlepool, England
- Basilios Bessarion (1403–1472), Greek scholar, mistakenly known as Johannes Bessarion
- Basil Blackshaw, painter born in Glengormley, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1932
- Basil Brooke, metallurgist and recusant
- Basil Bunting, British modernist poet
- Basil Curley, Labour politician in the City of Manchester
- Basil Davidson, acclaimed writer and historian of Africa
- Basil Dean, British director and actor of stage and film
- Basil Dearden, English film director
- Basil DeVito, Director of Marketing Initiatives with World Wrestling Entertainment
- Basil Dignam, English actor
- Basil D'Oliveira, retired South African/British cricketer
- Basil Embry, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953
- Basil Gabbidon, founding member of the reggae band Steel Pulse
- Basil Hall, naval officer, traveller, and author
- Basil Hammoudi, one of five German musicians in the German band Organisation
- Basil Harwood, English organist and composer
- Basil Henriques, Jewish philanthropist
- Basil McIvor, Ulster Unionist politician and pioneer of integrated education
- Basil McRae, Professional Hockey Player
- Basil Ogier, (†1716) Cistercian monk
- Basil Poledouris, American film soundtrack composer
- Basil L. Plumley, American soldier in world war two, korea and vietnam, Portrayed by sam Elliott in the film We Were Soldiers
- Basil Radford, British character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s
- Basil Rathbone, British actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and swashbuckler film villain roles
- Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka Presidential advisor
- Basil Shaaban, Lebanese racing driver
- Basil Wolverton, American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, illustrator for Marvel Comics and Mad
- Basil Thompson, acclaimed ballet dancer, master and teacher
- Basil Williams, English historian
As a surname
- Toni Basil, musician, video artist, actress, and choreographer
Historical religious leaders
- Basil of Caesarea, also known as Basil the Great, a 4th century bishop of Caesarea
- Basil of Ancyra, a 4th century martyr.
- Basil Fool for Christ, a Russian saint
- Basil of Ostrog, Saint Vasilije, Serbian religious leader
- Basil the Physician, Bogomil
- Basil of Seleucia, a metropolitan bishop of Seleucia ad Calycadnum
- Basil the Confessor
Historical emperors
- Basil I the Macedonian, Byzantine E. (811-886, ruled from 867)
- Basil II Bulgaroktonus, Byzantine E. (958-1025, ruled from 976)
- Basil of Trebizond (died 1340, ruled from 1332)
Generals
- Basil (Byzantine general) Byzantine general in the 10th century who reconquered Cyprus.
- Basil Boioannes, Catepan of Italy
As a fictional character
- Basil, fictional protagonist of Wilkie Collins' 1852 novel, Basil; A Tale of Modern Life.
- Basil Argyros, main character of a sequence of short stories (by Harry Turtledove)
- Basil Brush, a reddish-brown fox glove puppet who has appeared in British children's (and later adult) television programmes from the 1960s to the present day
- Basil Fawlty, the major character in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese
- Basil Makepeace (Michael Bilton), randy, baldish elderly denizen of Bayview in the BBC's Waiting for God
- Basil in the Basil of Baker Street novels and the movie The Great Mouse Detective
- Basil, character in the television series Fraggle Rock
- Basil, Manuel's pet "Siberian hamster" in Fawlty Towers
- Basil, Alex's pet snake in A Clockwork Orange
- Basil, character in the anime and manga series Reborn!
- Basil Exposition, Austin Powers' commander and confidant in the Austin Powers movie trilogy.
- Basil, a fictional character on the Playhouse Disney TV series Johnny and the Sprites.
See also
Sources
- Basil - Origin of Baby Names
- Basil (English) - House of Names
- Basil (French) - House of Names.
