BASILICAS

Noun

basilicas

plural of basilica

Source: Wiktionary

BASILICA

Ba*sil"i*ca, n.; pl. Basilicas; sometimes Basilic. Etym: [L. basilica, Gr. ( sc. , or ) fr. royal, fr. .]

Definition: Originally, the place 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.

2. (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.

Ba*sil"i*ca, n.

Definition: A digest of the laws of Justinian, translated from the original Latin into Greek, by order of Basil I., in the ninth century. P. Cyc.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition