basil

The angle to which the edge of shipwrights' cutting tools is ground away.

← bashaw × basilicon →

Basil
·noun The skin of a sheep tanned with bark. II. Basil ·vt To grind or form the edge of to an <<Angl...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Hall, Basil
(1788-1844) Traveller, s. of Sir James H., an eminent man of science, was in the navy, and rose to ...

Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. Cousin