Basil (name)

"Basileios" redirects here. For the Greek architectural element, see Stoa Basileios.
Basil
Pronunciation BAZ-əl, BAH-səl
Origin
Word/name Greek, Arabic
Meaning "royal, kingly, brave, valiant, chivalrous" in Greek; "brave, fearless, intrepid" in Arabic

The name Basil (/ˈbæzəl/; royal, kingly) comes from the male Greek name Vassilios (Greek: Βασίλειος, female version Bασιλική), 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 is more often used in Britain and Europe than in the US and is also the name of a common herb.

In Arabic, Bas(s)el (باسل, bāsil) is an indirect Quranic name for boys that means "brave, fearless, intrepid".[1] It is derived from the B-S-L root, which is used in many places in the Quran.[2]

Different derived names in different languages include Basile in French; Basilius in German; Basilio in Italian, Galician and Spanish; Basileo in Galician; Vasile in Romanian; Vasil in Bulgarian; Vasilije in Serbian; Vasily in Russian; Bazil, Bazsó, Vászoly and Vazul in Hungarian.

"Basil" has over 50 variants,[3] among them being: Bacile, Bas(s)el, Basley,[4] Baseley,[4] Bas(s)il(l),[4] Basilic, Basilides, Basileios, Basileo, Basile, Basilie, Basilio, Basilius, Basilone,[3] Bazeel, Bazeelius, Bazley,[4] Bazeley,[3][4] Bazell,[4] Bazelle,[3][4] Bazil, Bazyli, Breasal, Pasi,[5] Vasil, Vasyl, Vasile,[3] Vaseleos, Vasilchenko,[3] Vasileos, Vasilije, Vasilj, Vasko, Vasa, Vaso, Vasović,[3] Vas(s)ilios, Vasilius, Vasilus, Vassilis, Vasili, Vassili, Vasiliy, Vassilij, Vassily, Wassily, and Wasilewski.[3]

Basil may refer to the following people:

Rulers

Generals

Religious figures

variant Basilides

First name

variant Bassel

Surname

variant Bacile
variant Baseley
variant Basile
variant Basilio
variant Basilius
variant Basilone
variant Bassil
variant Bazeley
variant Bazell
variant Bazil
variant Bazley
variant Pasi
variant Vasil (excluding Vasil')
variant Vasilchenko

see Vasilchenko

variant Vasile
variant Vasili
variant Vasilj
variant Vasko (excluding Vaskó and Vaško)
variant Vasović
variant Vassili
variant Wasilewski

Fictional characters

References

  1. ↑ Wehr, Hans (1979). Cowan, J. Milton, ed. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. p. 73.
  2. ↑ "Basel". QuranicNames.com. QuranClub. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Last Name: Basil". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reaney, PH; Wilson, RM (1991). A Dictionary of English Surnames (reprint). Psychology Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780415057370 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Pasi". Behind the Name. Retrieved 23 May 2015.

External links

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