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/bəsˈɪlɪkə/ /bəzˈɪləkə/ Listen

noun

Basilica n. (pl. basilicas; sometimes basilicae)

Originally, the palace of a king; but afterward, an apartment provided in the houses of persons of importance, where assemblies were held for dispensing justice; and hence, any large hall used for this purpose.

(Arch.)

(a)

A building used by the Romans as a place of public meeting, with court rooms, etc., attached.

(b)

A church building of the earlier centuries of Christianity, the plan of which was taken from the basilica of the Romans. The name is still applied to some churches by way of honorary distinction.

Basilica n. A digest of the laws of Justinian, translated from the original Latin into Greek, by order of Basil I., in the ninth century.

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Etymology of 'Basilica'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Basilica" Quotes from Famous Books

... their gratulations were completed, Silently coram me each one stood still, So incandescent it o'ercame my sight. Smiling thereafterwards, said Beatrice: "Spirit august, by whom the benefactions Of our Basilica have been described, [30] Make Hope reverberate in this altitude; Thou knowest as oft thou dost personify it As Jesus to the three gave greater light,"— [33] "Lift up thy head, and make thyself assured; [34] For what comes hither from the mortal world Must needs be ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 75, January, 1864 • Various

... connexion," answered Campbell, "between the rise and nature of the basilica and of Gregorian unison. Both existed before Christianity; both are of Pagan origin; both were afterwards consecrated to the service of ...

— Loss and Gain - The Story of a Convert • John Henry Newman

... the defects formerly enumerate, except the last, and of the active part also of the last (which is the designation of writers), are opera basilica; towards which the endeavours of a private man may be but as an image in a crossway, that may point at the way, but cannot go it. But the inducing part of the latter (which is the survey of learning) may be set forward by private travail. Wherefore I will now attempt to ...

— The Advancement of Learning • Francis Bacon

... much as possible of the Basilica of Santa Andrea—a noble church—and of an inclosed portion of the pavement, about which tapers were burning, and a few people kneeling, and under which is said to be preserved the Sangreal of the old Romances. This church disposed ...

— Pictures from Italy • Charles Dickens

... "History of St. Martin's Church, Canterbury." The ruins of a tiny Christian basilica, of the time of the Romans, were discovered ...

— A Literary History of the English People - From the Origins to the Renaissance • Jean Jules Jusserand

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