Flowers

Matthew Malthouse · 22 Jul 1999, 11:13 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: Matthew Malthouse <matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (urth) Flowers
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:13:45 +0100
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Alice Turner wrote:

> Basil: This is a toughie. By name it goes back to the 15th c. (OED), well
> before Shakespeare. Why wouldn't he mention it? Well, it was somewhat
> loosely used for some forms of thyme, and vice versa. That could be it.

OED:

basil1. Herb. Forms: 5 (basilicon), basile, 6
basyle, -yll, bazil, bassel, 6,7 basill, 6, basil.
[a. OF. basile, ad. L. basilisca, f. basiliscus basilisk: the Gr.
name of the plant was
<beta><alpha><sigma><iota><lambda><iota><kappa><nu>
royal, whence the botanical specific name basilicum, perhaps
because the herb was used in some royal unguent, bath, or
medicine (Prior). In Lat. this seems to have been confused with
basiliscus, on the supposition that it was an antidote to the
basilisk<cq>s venom: in OF., basile, basilicoq, basilique, and in
mod.F., basilic are applied both to the serpent and the plant.]

Now if basil were an antidote to the basilisk's venom anyone care to
nominate a basilisk in Urth?

Matthew

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