ocimum

Latin

Ocimum

Alternative forms

• ōcimus

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὤκιμον (ṓkimon).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈoː.ki.mum/, [ˈoːkɪmʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.t͡ʃi.mum/, [ˈɔːt͡ʃimum]

Noun

ōcimum n (genitive ōcimī); second declension

1. basil (Ocimum basilicum)
   • c. 62 CE, Persius, Saturae 4.19–22:

     […] Ī nunc,
     'Dīnomachēs ego sum' sufflā, 'sum candidus.' Estō,
     dum nē dēterius sapiat pannūcia Baucis,
     cum bene discīnctō cantāverit ōcima vernae.

     Go now,
     puff yourself up, 'I am the son of Dinomache, I am shining.' Be then,
     while only wizened Baucis has worse sense than you,
     when she nicely sings her basils to some ragged slave.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ōcimum	ōcima
Genitive	ōcimī	ōcimōrum
Dative	ōcimō	ōcimīs
Accusative	ōcimum	ōcima
Ablative	ōcimō	ōcimīs
Vocative	ōcimum	ōcima

References

• “ocimum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ocimum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.