basilica
/bəˈsɪlɪkə/
"basilica" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“basilica” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,009 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,009
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | basilica |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bəˈsɪlɪkə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #26,009 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “basilica” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for basilica is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bəˈsɪlɪkə/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,009 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for basilica, with forms such as "absilica", "baislica", and "basiilca". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Brasilia", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin basilica, from Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκή (băsĭlĭkḗ), from βᾰσῐλῐκὴ στοά (băsĭlĭkḕ stoá, “royal hall”), ultimately from βασιλικός (basilikós, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king, chief”). Doublet of basoche. The correct English form is basilica, spelled B-A-S-I-L-I-C-A.
Definition
- 1A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
- 2A Roman Catholic church or cathedral with basilican status, an honorific status granted by the pope to recognize its historical, architectural, or sacramental importance.
- 3An apartment provided in the houses of persons of importance, where assemblies were held for dispensing justice; hence, any large hall used for this purpose.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin basilica, from Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκή (băsĭlĭkḗ), from βᾰσῐλῐκὴ στοά (băsĭlĭkḕ stoá, “royal hall”), ultimately from βασιλικός (basilikós, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king, chief”). Doublet of basoche.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: absilica,baislica,basiilca,basilcia,basiliac,basilicca,basillica,basliica,bassilica,bbasilica,bsailica
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of basilica - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "basilica"?
What does "basilica" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "basilica"?
How do you pronounce "basilica"?
What is the origin of the word "basilica"?
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Using “basilica”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-S-I-L-I-C-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bəˈsɪlɪkə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Brasilia” - see the side-by-side comparison. basilica vs Brasilia
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.