IN GREEK
βασιλικός
vasilikos
basil plant; also adjective “royal”
IN TURKISH
fesleğen
fesleğen
basil plant
WEAR THE WORD
βασιλικός in blue ink and fesleğen in red, on a T shirt, a tote or a mug.
THE RECORD
- LENT BY, BORROWED BY
- Greek to Turkish
- STARTED IN
- Greek
- CATEGORY
- Food
- HOW THE MEANING DRIFTED
- Greek has the adjective “royal” as a homonymous form; Turkish denotes the herb.
COMMENTS
An editor reads every comment before it appears.
SOURCES
- Rona & Dedes (2007), “Languages in Contact: Greek Loanwords in Turkish”, Journal of Turkish Studies 31/2, p. 190 makale.isam.org.tr
Etymologies are checked against the dictionaries and studies listed. An entry is stamped settled only when both the Greek and the Turkish side have been checked. Research for this ledger was compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by the editors.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
Gold, K. (ed.) (2026) ‘βασιλικός / fesleğen’, entry 005, Defter ή Tefteri: a ledger of shared Greek and Turkish words. https://defteritefteri.com/en/w/005-vasilikos/. Accessed [day month year].