basium

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *bu, cognate with English buss

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈbaː.si.um/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Noun

bāsium n (genitive bāsiī); second declension

1. kiss, especially of the hand
   • Phaedre 5, 8, 28

     Jactat basia tibicen.

     Throws kisses of the hand.

   • Catullus Carm. 5

     Da mi basia mille, deinde centum.

     Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred.

Inflection

Second declension neuter.

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	bāsium	bāsia
genitive	bāsiī	bāsiōrum
dative	bāsiō	bāsiīs
accusative	bāsium	bāsia
ablative	bāsiō	bāsiīs
vocative	bāsium	bāsia

Synonyms

• (kiss): ōsculum, suavium

Derived terms

• bāsiō

Descendants

• Aromanian: bãshiu
• Asturian: besu
• Catalan: bes
• Dalmatian: biss
• French: baiser
• Friulian: buš
• Galician: beixo
• Italian: bacio
• Ladino: bezo

• Occitan: bais
• Old Portuguese: beijo
• Portuguese: beijo
• Romansch: bitsch, betsch, bütsch
• Sardinian: basu, baxu, vasu
• Sicilian: vasu
• Spanish: beso
• Venetian: baxo

References

• basium in Charlton T. Lewis & Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
• Pokorny *bu