basilisk

Other forms of basilisk

plural

basilisks·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about basilisk

What does basilisk mean?

basilisk means "(classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in basilisk?

basilisk has 3 syllables and divides as ba-si-lisk under the regular spelling rules. It is not in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, so that comes from how the word is written rather than from a recorded pronunciation, and no stress or phonetic transcription is claimed for it.

Is basilisk a common word?

basilisk is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.