Meanings
plural basilicas · plural basilicae
- architectureA Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
- obsoleteAn apartment provided in the houses of persons of importance, where assemblies were held for dispensing justice; hence, any large hall used for this purpose.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna Roman building used for public administration
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekβᾰσῐλῐκή
- Latinbasilica
- Englishbasilica
Borrowed from Latin basilica, from Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκή (băsĭlĭkḗ), from βᾰσῐλῐκὴ στοά (băsĭlĭkḕ stoá, “royal hall”), ultimately from βασιλικός (basilikós, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king, chief”). Doublet of basoche.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бази́лика
- бази́лика (bazílika)Christian church building having a nave
Catalan basílica
- basílicaChristian church building having a nave
Chinese Mandarin 巴西利卡, 大聖堂 /大圣堂
- 巴西利卡 (bāxīlìkǎ)Christian church building having a nave
- 大聖堂 /大圣堂 (dàshèngtáng)Christian church building having a nave
Czech bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Danish basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Dutch basiliek
- basiliekChristian church building having a nave
Esperanto baziliko
- bazilikoChristian church building having a nave
Estonian basiilika
- basiilikaChristian church building having a nave
Finnish basilika, kirkko
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
- kirkkoChristian church building having a nave
French basilique
- basiliqueChristian church building having a nave
German Basilika
- BasilikaChristian church building having a nave
Greek βασιλική
- βασιλική (vasilikí)Christian church building having a nave
Hungarian bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Indonesian basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Irish baisleac
- baisleacChristian church building having a nave
Italian basilica
- basilicaChristian church building having a nave
Japanese バシリカ, 聖堂
- バシリカ (bashirika)Christian church building having a nave
- 聖堂 (seidō)Christian church building having a nave
Latvian bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Lithuanian bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Malay basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Norwegian Bokmål basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Polish bazylika
- bazylikaChristian church building having a nave
Portuguese basílica
- basílicaChristian church building having a nave
Romanian bazilică
- bazilicăChristian church building having a nave
Russian бази́лика
- бази́лика (bazílika)Christian church building having a nave
Slovak bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Spanish basílica
- basílicaChristian church building having a nave
Swedish basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Tagalog basilika
- basilikaChristian church building having a nave
Thai มหาวิหาร
- มหาวิหาร (má-hǎa-wí-hǎan)Christian church building having a nave
Turkish bazilika
- bazilikaChristian church building having a nave
Cite this entry
basilica. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilica
“basilica.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilica. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “basilica,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basilica.
Source: basilica on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.