Meanings
alternative basilary
- not comparablerelationalanatomyOf, pertaining to, or located at a base, but especially at the base of the skull or an organ of Corti.
- not comparableLower, inferior, base.
[…] that which he has in common with the lion, the cow and the horse—namely, the basilar instincts and appetites that in the animal creation constitute the whole.
1883, Henry Ward Beecher, “What is the Bible?”, in Plymouth Pulpit: A Weekly Publication of Sermons Preached by Henry Ward Beecher in Plymouth Church Brooklyn, volume 6, number 17, page 343
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveof or relating to or located at the base
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchbasilaire
- New Latinbasilāris
- Englishbasilar
Borrowing from New Latin basilāris, irregularly from basis (“a pedestal, foot, base”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); or from French basilaire, from base (“base, basis”) + -aire (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix), in the pattern of cimbalaire (“cymbal-shaped”).
More words from New Latin, French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 基底的
- 基底的 (jīdǐ de)of, pertaining to, or located at a base
Spanish basilar
- basilarof, pertaining to, or located at a base
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with basilar
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
basilar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilar
“basilar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilar. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “basilar,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilar.
Source: basilar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.