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Şaibe: [ Meninski, Thesaurus, 1680] şāyibet, şāyibe: Res impura & dubium, suspicio. [ Şemseddin Sami, Kamus-ı Türki, 1900] şāibe: Leke, noksan, nakıse, kusur. From AR şāˀiba(t) شائبة leke, bulanıklık, karışıklık, kusur from AR şāba شاب karıştırdı, kirletti, lekeledi
Mühür: seal[1], stamp[2] EN mühr [ Borovkov ed., Orta Asya'da Bulunmuş ... Kuran Tefsiri, 1300] [ Codex Cumanicus, 1303] sigillum [mühür] - Fa & Tr: moghor ... sigillo [mühürlerim] - Tr: moghorlarmen
From FA muhr مهر damga; oldFA mudrak; Sanskrit mudrā मुद्रा
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Sultan: Sultan[3] EN [ Kutadgu Bilig, 1069] ilig (...) eḏgü sulṭān turur [hükümdar iyi sultandır] [ Codex Cumanicus, 1303]rex - FA: padisa & soltan - TR sultan. From AR sulṭān سلطان 1. egemenlik, iktidar, 2. hükümdar from Aramaic şilṭōn, şulṭānā שִׁלְטוֹן iktidar, egemenlik from Hebrew şālaṭ שלט elle tutma, (bir ülkeye) sahip olma. The Ottoman sultan. The great Turk[4] Der große Türke GER
Padişah: padişah [1300] From FA pādişāh پادشاه hükümdar, iktidar sahibi oldFA pātaχşāh oldFA pāti-χşāyath pāti- bey, iktidar sahibi.
Kral: king[5] EN [AşZ 1502] ve Engürüs'üŋ [Macar] kralı güc-ile kurtuldı, yalŋız kaçdı gitdi Serbian kral hükümdar; karlaz adam, erkek GER.
İmparator: Emperor [6] "Habsburg hükümdarının unvanı" [ Selanikli Mustafa Âli, Tarih-i Selanikî, 1600] Üngürüs taḥtınuŋ krallığın ve imperadorlığın alı-virem fromLatin imperator ordu kumandanı, serdar, Roma'nın askeri hakimi olan Augustus'un benimsediği unvan from L. imperare, imperat- buyurmak, komuta etmek +orL. in+parare, parat- tedarik etmek, donatmak
[1] seal (v.) Look up seal at Dictionary.com
"to fasten with (or as with) a seal," c. 1200, from seal (n.1). Meaning "to place a seal on (a document)" is recorded from mid-14c.; hence "to conclude, ratify, render official" (late 15c.). Sense of "to close up with wax, lead, cement, etc." is attested from 1660s, from the notion of wax seals on envelopes. In reference to the actions of wood-coatings, 1940. Related: Sealed; sealing. Sealing-wax is attested from c. 1300. To seal (one's) fate (1799) probably reflects the notion of a seal on an execution warrant.
seal (n.1) "design stamped on wax," especially one attached to a document as evidence of authenticity, c. 1200, from Old French seel "seal on a letter" (Modern French sceau), from Vulgar Latin *sigellum (source of Italian suggello, Spanish sello; also Old Frisian and Middle High German sigel, German Siegel), from Latin sigillum "small picture, engraved figure, seal," diminutive of signum "mark, token" (see sign (n.)). An earlier borrowing directly from Latin is represented by Old English insigel. Technical use, "what prevents the escape of a gas or liquid" is from 1853.
[2] stamp (n.) mid-15c., "instrument for crushing, stamping tool," from stamp (v.). Especially "instrument for making impressions" (1570s). Meaning "downward thrust or blow with the foot, act of stamping" is from 1580s. Sense of "official mark or imprint" (to certify that duty has been paid on what has been printed or written) dates from 1540s; transferred 1837 to designed, pre-printed adhesive labels issued by governments to serve the same purpose as impressed stamps. German Stempel "rubber stamp, brand, postmark" represents a diminutive form. Stamp-collecting is from 1862 (compare philately).
stamp (v.) Old English stempan "to pound in a mortar," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stappa, Danish stampe, Middle Dutch stampen, Old High German stampfon, German stampfen "to stamp with the foot, beat, pound," German Stampfe "pestle"), from nasalized form of PIE root *stebh- "to support, place firmly on" (source also of Greek stembein "to trample, misuse;" see staff (n.)). The vowel altered in Middle English, perhaps by influence of Scandinavian forms.
Sense of "strike the foot forcibly downwards" is from mid-14c. The meaning "impress or mark (something) with a die" is first recorded 1550s. Italian stampa "stamp, impression," Spanish estampar "to stamp, print," French étamper (13c., Old French estamper) "to stamp, impress" are Germanic loan-words. Related: Stamped; stamping. To stamp out originally was "extinguish a fire by stamping on it;" attested from 1851 in the figurative sense. Stamping ground "one's particular territory" (1821) is from the notion of animals. A stamped addressed envelope (1873) was one you enclosed in a letter to speed or elicit a reply.
[3] sultan (n.) 1550s, from Middle French sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), ultimately from Arabic (Semitic) sultan "ruler, prince, monarch, king, queen," originally "power, dominion." According to Klein's sources, this is from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power." Earlier English word was soldan, soudan (c. 1300), used indiscriminately of Muslim rulers and sovereigns, from Old French souldan, soudan, from Medieval Latin sultanus. Related: Sultanic.
sultana (n.)
wife, mother, daughter, or concubine of a sultan, 1580s, from Italian sultana, fem. of sultano (see sultan). Middle English had soudanesse "sultaness" (late 14c.).
sultanate (n.)
1794, from sultan + -ate (1).
[4] Turk (n.) c. 1300, from French Turc, from Medieval Latin Turcus, from Byzantine Greek Tourkos, Persian turk, a national name, of unknown origin. Said to mean "strength" in Turkish. Compare Chinese tu-kin, recorded from c. 177 B.C.E. as the name of a people living south of the Altai Mountains (identified by some with the Huns). In Persian, turk, in addition to the national name, also could mean "a beautiful youth,""a barbarian,""a robber."
In English, the Ottoman sultan was the Grand Turk (late 15c.), and the Turk was used collectively for the Turkish people or for Ottoman power (late 15c.). From 14c. and especially 16c.-18c. Turk could mean "a Muslim," reflecting the Turkish political power's status in the Western mind as the Muslim nation par excellence. Hence Turkery "Islam" (1580s); turn Turk "convert to Islam."
Meaning "person of Irish descent" is first recorded 1914 in U.S., apparently originating among Irish-Americans; of unknown origin (Irish torc "boar, hog" has been suggested). Young Turk (1908) was a member of an early 20c. political group in the Ottoman Empire that sought rejuvenation of the Turkish nation. Turkish bath is attested from 1640s; Turkish delight from 1877.
[5] king (n.) a late Old English contraction of cyning "king, ruler" (also used as a title), from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (source also of Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Danish konge, Old Saxon and Old High German kuning, Middle High German künic, German König).
This is of uncertain origin. It is possibly related to Old English cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a "leader of the people." Or perhaps it is from a related prehistoric Germanic word meaning "noble birth," making a king etymologically "one who descended from noble birth." The sociological and ideological implications render this a topic of much debate. "The exact notional relation of king with kin is undetermined, but the etymological relation is hardly to be doubted" [Century Dictionary].
General Germanic, but not attested in Gothic, where þiudans (cognate with Old English þeoden "chief of a tribe, ruler, prince, king") was used. Finnish kuningas "king," Old Church Slavonic kunegu "prince" (Russian knyaz, Bohemian knez), Lithuanian kunigas "clergyman" are forms of this word taken from Germanic. Meaning "one who has superiority in a certain field or class" is from late 14c.
As leon is the king of bestes. [John Gower, "Confessio Amantis," 1390]
In Old English, used for chiefs of Anglian and Saxon tribes or clans, of the heads of states they founded, and of the British and Danish chiefs they fought. The word acquired a more imposing quality with the rise of European nation-states, but then it was applied to tribal chiefs in Africa, Asia, North America. The chess piece is so called from c. 1400; the playing card from 1560s; the use in checkers/draughts is first recorded 1820. Three Kings for the Biblical Wise Men is from c. 1200.
[I]t was [Eugene] Field who haunted the declining years of Creston Clarke with his review of that actor's Lear. ... Said he, "Mr. Clarke played the King all the evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace." ["Theatre Magazine," January 1922]
king (adj.)
king (n.) applied, at first in natural history, to species deemed remarkably big or dominant, such as king crab (1690s); the U.S. king snake (1737), which attacks other snakes and is regarded especially as the enemy of the rattlesnake; king cobra (1894). In marketing, king-size is from 1939, originally of cigarettes. A king-bolt (1825) was the large bolt connecting the fore part of a carriage with the fore-axle.
The King-snake is the longest of all other Snakes in these parts, but are not common; the Indians make Girdles and Sashes of their Skins, and it is reported by them, that they are not very venemous, and that no other Snake will meddle with them, which I suppose is the Reason that they are so fond of wearing their Skins about their Bodies as they do. [John Brickell, "The Natural History of North-Carolina," Dublin, 1737]
[6] emperor (n.) early 13c., from Old French empereor "emperor, leader, ruler" (11c.; accusative; nominative emperere; Modern French empereur), from Latin imperiatorem (nominative imperiator) "commander, emperor," from past participle stem of imperare "to command" (see empire).
Originally a title conferred by vote of the Roman army on a successful general, later by the Senate on Julius and Augustus Caesar and adopted by their successors except Tiberius and Claudius. In the Middle Ages, applied to rulers of China, Japan, etc.; non-historical European application in English had been only to the Holy Roman Emperors (who in German documents are called kaiser), from late 13c., until in 1804 Napoleon took the title "Emperor of the French."
empress (n.) mid-12c., emperice, from Old French emperesse, fem. of emperere (see emperor). Queen Victoria in 1876 became one as "Empress of India."
Caesar c. 1200, see caesarian; Old English had casere, which would have yielded modern *coser, but it was replaced in Middle English by keiser, from Norse or Low German, and later in Middle English by the French or Latin form of the name. Cæsar was used as a title of emperors down to Hadrian (138 C.E.), and also is the root of German Kaiser and Russian tsar (see czar). He competes as progenitor of words for "king" with Charlemagne (Latin Carolus), as in Lithuanian karalius, Polish krol. In U.S. slang c. 1900, a sheriff was Great Seizer.
czar (n.)
1550s, from Russian tsar, from Old Slavic tsesari, from Gothic kaisar, from Greek kaisar, from Latin Caesar. First adopted by Russian emperor Ivan IV, 1547.
The spelling with cz- is against the usage of all Slavonic languages; the word was so spelt by Herberstein, Rerum Moscovit. Commentarii, 1549, the chief early source of knowledge as to Russia in Western Europe, whence it passed into the Western Languages generally; in some of these it is now old-fashioned; the usual Ger. form is now zar; French adopted tsar during the 19th c. This also became frequent in English towards the end of that century, having been adopted by the Times newspaper as the most suitable English spelling. [OED]
The Germanic form of the word also is the source of Finnish keisari, Estonian keisar. The transferred sense of "person with dictatorial powers" is first recorded 1866, American English, initially in reference to President Andrew Johnson. The fem. czarina is 1717, from Italian czarina, from Ger. Zarin, fem. of Zar "czar." The Russian fem. form is tsaritsa. His son is tsarevitch, his daughter is tsarevna.
tsar (n.) 1660s, the more correct Latinization of Russian czar, from prehistoric Slavic *tsesar, from a Germanic source, ultimately from Latin Caesar. See czar. Related: Tsardom; tsarevich; tsarina; tsarevna.
Basil masc. proper name, from Latin Basilius, from Greek Basileios "kingly, royal," from basileus "king," which is of unknown origin, possibly from a language of Asia Minor (compare Lydian battos "king"). St. Basil the Great lived 4c. and was the founder of Eastern monasticism.
basilica (n.)
1540s, "type of building based on the Athenian royal portico, large oblong building with double columns and a semicircular porch at the end," from Latin basilica "building of a court of justice," from Greek (stoa) basilike "royal (portal)," in Athens the portico of the archon basileus, the official who dispensed justice in Athens; from fem. adjective of basileus "king" (see Basil).
In Rome, the style of building used for halls of justice, many of which were subsequently appropriated as churches, and so it became a standard plan for new churches. The word is applied to the seven principal Roman churches founded by Constantine. The specific reference to Christian churches in English is attested by 1560s.
Şaibe: [ Meninski, Thesaurus, 1680] şāyibet, şāyibe: Res impura & dubium, suspicio. [ Şemseddin Sami, Kamus-ı Türki, 1900] şāibe: Leke, noksan, nakıse, kusur. From AR şāˀiba(t) شائبة leke, bulanıklık, karışıklık, kusur from AR şāba شاب karıştırdı, kirletti, lekeledi
Mühür: seal[1], stamp[2] EN mühr [ Borovkov ed., Orta Asya'da Bulunmuş ... Kuran Tefsiri, 1300] [ Codex Cumanicus, 1303] sigillum [mühür] - Fa & Tr: moghor ... sigillo [mühürlerim] - Tr: moghorlarmen
From FA muhr مهر damga; oldFA mudrak; Sanskrit mudrā मुद्रा
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Sultan: Sultan[3] EN [ Kutadgu Bilig, 1069] ilig (...) eḏgü sulṭān turur [hükümdar iyi sultandır] [ Codex Cumanicus, 1303]rex - FA: padisa & soltan - TR sultan. From AR sulṭān سلطان 1. egemenlik, iktidar, 2. hükümdar from Aramaic şilṭōn, şulṭānā שִׁלְטוֹן iktidar, egemenlik from Hebrew şālaṭ שלט elle tutma, (bir ülkeye) sahip olma. The Ottoman sultan. The great Turk[4] Der große Türke GERPadişah: padişah [1300] From FA pādişāh پادشاه hükümdar, iktidar sahibi oldFA pātaχşāh oldFA pāti-χşāyath pāti- bey, iktidar sahibi.
Kral: king[5] EN [AşZ 1502] ve Engürüs'üŋ [Macar] kralı güc-ile kurtuldı, yalŋız kaçdı gitdi Serbian kral hükümdar; karlaz adam, erkek GER.
İmparator: Emperor [6] "Habsburg hükümdarının unvanı" [ Selanikli Mustafa Âli, Tarih-i Selanikî, 1600] Üngürüs taḥtınuŋ krallığın ve imperadorlığın alı-virem fromLatin imperator ordu kumandanı, serdar, Roma'nın askeri hakimi olan Augustus'un benimsediği unvan from L. imperare, imperat- buyurmak, komuta etmek +orL. in+parare, parat- tedarik etmek, donatmak
[1] seal (v.) Look up seal at Dictionary.com
"to fasten with (or as with) a seal," c. 1200, from seal (n.1). Meaning "to place a seal on (a document)" is recorded from mid-14c.; hence "to conclude, ratify, render official" (late 15c.). Sense of "to close up with wax, lead, cement, etc." is attested from 1660s, from the notion of wax seals on envelopes. In reference to the actions of wood-coatings, 1940. Related: Sealed; sealing. Sealing-wax is attested from c. 1300. To seal (one's) fate (1799) probably reflects the notion of a seal on an execution warrant.
seal (n.1) "design stamped on wax," especially one attached to a document as evidence of authenticity, c. 1200, from Old French seel "seal on a letter" (Modern French sceau), from Vulgar Latin *sigellum (source of Italian suggello, Spanish sello; also Old Frisian and Middle High German sigel, German Siegel), from Latin sigillum "small picture, engraved figure, seal," diminutive of signum "mark, token" (see sign (n.)). An earlier borrowing directly from Latin is represented by Old English insigel. Technical use, "what prevents the escape of a gas or liquid" is from 1853.
[2] stamp (n.) mid-15c., "instrument for crushing, stamping tool," from stamp (v.). Especially "instrument for making impressions" (1570s). Meaning "downward thrust or blow with the foot, act of stamping" is from 1580s. Sense of "official mark or imprint" (to certify that duty has been paid on what has been printed or written) dates from 1540s; transferred 1837 to designed, pre-printed adhesive labels issued by governments to serve the same purpose as impressed stamps. German Stempel "rubber stamp, brand, postmark" represents a diminutive form. Stamp-collecting is from 1862 (compare philately).
stamp (v.) Old English stempan "to pound in a mortar," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stappa, Danish stampe, Middle Dutch stampen, Old High German stampfon, German stampfen "to stamp with the foot, beat, pound," German Stampfe "pestle"), from nasalized form of PIE root *stebh- "to support, place firmly on" (source also of Greek stembein "to trample, misuse;" see staff (n.)). The vowel altered in Middle English, perhaps by influence of Scandinavian forms.
Sense of "strike the foot forcibly downwards" is from mid-14c. The meaning "impress or mark (something) with a die" is first recorded 1550s. Italian stampa "stamp, impression," Spanish estampar "to stamp, print," French étamper (13c., Old French estamper) "to stamp, impress" are Germanic loan-words. Related: Stamped; stamping. To stamp out originally was "extinguish a fire by stamping on it;" attested from 1851 in the figurative sense. Stamping ground "one's particular territory" (1821) is from the notion of animals. A stamped addressed envelope (1873) was one you enclosed in a letter to speed or elicit a reply.
[3] sultan (n.) 1550s, from Middle French sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), ultimately from Arabic (Semitic) sultan "ruler, prince, monarch, king, queen," originally "power, dominion." According to Klein's sources, this is from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power." Earlier English word was soldan, soudan (c. 1300), used indiscriminately of Muslim rulers and sovereigns, from Old French souldan, soudan, from Medieval Latin sultanus. Related: Sultanic.
sultana (n.)
wife, mother, daughter, or concubine of a sultan, 1580s, from Italian sultana, fem. of sultano (see sultan). Middle English had soudanesse "sultaness" (late 14c.).
sultanate (n.)
1794, from sultan + -ate (1).
[4] Turk (n.) c. 1300, from French Turc, from Medieval Latin Turcus, from Byzantine Greek Tourkos, Persian turk, a national name, of unknown origin. Said to mean "strength" in Turkish. Compare Chinese tu-kin, recorded from c. 177 B.C.E. as the name of a people living south of the Altai Mountains (identified by some with the Huns). In Persian, turk, in addition to the national name, also could mean "a beautiful youth,""a barbarian,""a robber."
In English, the Ottoman sultan was the Grand Turk (late 15c.), and the Turk was used collectively for the Turkish people or for Ottoman power (late 15c.). From 14c. and especially 16c.-18c. Turk could mean "a Muslim," reflecting the Turkish political power's status in the Western mind as the Muslim nation par excellence. Hence Turkery "Islam" (1580s); turn Turk "convert to Islam."
Meaning "person of Irish descent" is first recorded 1914 in U.S., apparently originating among Irish-Americans; of unknown origin (Irish torc "boar, hog" has been suggested). Young Turk (1908) was a member of an early 20c. political group in the Ottoman Empire that sought rejuvenation of the Turkish nation. Turkish bath is attested from 1640s; Turkish delight from 1877.
[5] king (n.) a late Old English contraction of cyning "king, ruler" (also used as a title), from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (source also of Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Danish konge, Old Saxon and Old High German kuning, Middle High German künic, German König).
This is of uncertain origin. It is possibly related to Old English cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a "leader of the people." Or perhaps it is from a related prehistoric Germanic word meaning "noble birth," making a king etymologically "one who descended from noble birth." The sociological and ideological implications render this a topic of much debate. "The exact notional relation of king with kin is undetermined, but the etymological relation is hardly to be doubted" [Century Dictionary].
General Germanic, but not attested in Gothic, where þiudans (cognate with Old English þeoden "chief of a tribe, ruler, prince, king") was used. Finnish kuningas "king," Old Church Slavonic kunegu "prince" (Russian knyaz, Bohemian knez), Lithuanian kunigas "clergyman" are forms of this word taken from Germanic. Meaning "one who has superiority in a certain field or class" is from late 14c.
As leon is the king of bestes. [John Gower, "Confessio Amantis," 1390]
In Old English, used for chiefs of Anglian and Saxon tribes or clans, of the heads of states they founded, and of the British and Danish chiefs they fought. The word acquired a more imposing quality with the rise of European nation-states, but then it was applied to tribal chiefs in Africa, Asia, North America. The chess piece is so called from c. 1400; the playing card from 1560s; the use in checkers/draughts is first recorded 1820. Three Kings for the Biblical Wise Men is from c. 1200.
[I]t was [Eugene] Field who haunted the declining years of Creston Clarke with his review of that actor's Lear. ... Said he, "Mr. Clarke played the King all the evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace." ["Theatre Magazine," January 1922]
king (adj.)
king (n.) applied, at first in natural history, to species deemed remarkably big or dominant, such as king crab (1690s); the U.S. king snake (1737), which attacks other snakes and is regarded especially as the enemy of the rattlesnake; king cobra (1894). In marketing, king-size is from 1939, originally of cigarettes. A king-bolt (1825) was the large bolt connecting the fore part of a carriage with the fore-axle.
The King-snake is the longest of all other Snakes in these parts, but are not common; the Indians make Girdles and Sashes of their Skins, and it is reported by them, that they are not very venemous, and that no other Snake will meddle with them, which I suppose is the Reason that they are so fond of wearing their Skins about their Bodies as they do. [John Brickell, "The Natural History of North-Carolina," Dublin, 1737]
[6] emperor (n.) early 13c., from Old French empereor "emperor, leader, ruler" (11c.; accusative; nominative emperere; Modern French empereur), from Latin imperiatorem (nominative imperiator) "commander, emperor," from past participle stem of imperare "to command" (see empire).
Originally a title conferred by vote of the Roman army on a successful general, later by the Senate on Julius and Augustus Caesar and adopted by their successors except Tiberius and Claudius. In the Middle Ages, applied to rulers of China, Japan, etc.; non-historical European application in English had been only to the Holy Roman Emperors (who in German documents are called kaiser), from late 13c., until in 1804 Napoleon took the title "Emperor of the French."
empress (n.) mid-12c., emperice, from Old French emperesse, fem. of emperere (see emperor). Queen Victoria in 1876 became one as "Empress of India."
Caesar c. 1200, see caesarian; Old English had casere, which would have yielded modern *coser, but it was replaced in Middle English by keiser, from Norse or Low German, and later in Middle English by the French or Latin form of the name. Cæsar was used as a title of emperors down to Hadrian (138 C.E.), and also is the root of German Kaiser and Russian tsar (see czar). He competes as progenitor of words for "king" with Charlemagne (Latin Carolus), as in Lithuanian karalius, Polish krol. In U.S. slang c. 1900, a sheriff was Great Seizer.
czar (n.)
1550s, from Russian tsar, from Old Slavic tsesari, from Gothic kaisar, from Greek kaisar, from Latin Caesar. First adopted by Russian emperor Ivan IV, 1547.
The spelling with cz- is against the usage of all Slavonic languages; the word was so spelt by Herberstein, Rerum Moscovit. Commentarii, 1549, the chief early source of knowledge as to Russia in Western Europe, whence it passed into the Western Languages generally; in some of these it is now old-fashioned; the usual Ger. form is now zar; French adopted tsar during the 19th c. This also became frequent in English towards the end of that century, having been adopted by the Times newspaper as the most suitable English spelling. [OED]
The Germanic form of the word also is the source of Finnish keisari, Estonian keisar. The transferred sense of "person with dictatorial powers" is first recorded 1866, American English, initially in reference to President Andrew Johnson. The fem. czarina is 1717, from Italian czarina, from Ger. Zarin, fem. of Zar "czar." The Russian fem. form is tsaritsa. His son is tsarevitch, his daughter is tsarevna.
tsar (n.) 1660s, the more correct Latinization of Russian czar, from prehistoric Slavic *tsesar, from a Germanic source, ultimately from Latin Caesar. See czar. Related: Tsardom; tsarevich; tsarina; tsarevna.
Basil masc. proper name, from Latin Basilius, from Greek Basileios "kingly, royal," from basileus "king," which is of unknown origin, possibly from a language of Asia Minor (compare Lydian battos "king"). St. Basil the Great lived 4c. and was the founder of Eastern monasticism.
basilica (n.)
1540s, "type of building based on the Athenian royal portico, large oblong building with double columns and a semicircular porch at the end," from Latin basilica "building of a court of justice," from Greek (stoa) basilike "royal (portal)," in Athens the portico of the archon basileus, the official who dispensed justice in Athens; from fem. adjective of basileus "king" (see Basil).
In Rome, the style of building used for halls of justice, many of which were subsequently appropriated as churches, and so it became a standard plan for new churches. The word is applied to the seven principal Roman churches founded by Constantine. The specific reference to Christian churches in English is attested by 1560s.