basilica

/bəˈsɪlɪkə/

//bəˈsɪlɪkə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"basilica" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“basilica” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,009. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,009
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.

Corpus desk

Index EN-basilica · basilica · English

basilica · rank #26,009 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,009
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH barre

Nearest frequency peer: barre (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “basilica”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “basilica” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

basilica vs Brasilia
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for basilica
PropertyValue
Headwordbasilica
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bəˈsɪlɪkə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#26,009
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “basilica”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).basilicalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “barre” (#26,008), “Bassett” (#26,010), “automate” (#26,007). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “basilica” is #26,009. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around basilica (IPA /bəˈsɪlɪkə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,009 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
  2. 2
    A Roman Catholic church or cathedral with basilican status, an honorific status granted by the pope to recognize its historical, architectural, or sacramental importance.
  3. 3
    An 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

basílica(Español)basilique(Français)Basilika(Deutsch)basílica(Português)

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.

absilica2baislica2basiilca2basilcia2basiliac2basilicca1basillica1basliica2
Edit distance from "basilica"

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"?
"basilica" is spelled B-A-S-I-L-I-C-A. The IPA pronunciation is /bəˈsɪlɪkə/.
What does "basilica" mean?
As a noun, "basilica" means: A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
What words are commonly confused with "basilica"?
"basilica" is commonly confused with "Brasilia". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "basilica"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "basilica" is /bəˈsɪlɪkə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "basilica"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "basilica", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

automate#26,007antelope#26,002aneurysm#26,001blushing#26,018

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

blaster11 variantscertify11 variantschecker11 variantswronged11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list