See Also: seldseen(dictionary)

Basel (sh) and seldseen (iou)


Basel (sh)




or Basle French Bale

City (2000: city, 166,558; metro. area, 402,387), northwestern Switzerland.

It straddles the Rhine at the point where France, Germany, and Switzerland meet. It was originally a settlement of the Celtic Rauraci tribe. Its university, the first in Switzerland, was founded by Pope Pius II while attending the Council of Basel (1431-49). In 1501 Basel was admitted into the Swiss Confederation. When Desiderius Erasmus taught at the university (1521-29), the city became a centre of humanism and of the Reformation. Primarily German-speaking and Protestant, it is an important trading and industrial city and river port.


seldseen (iou)



seldseen adjective. Long arch. rare.
[Old English seldsiene (with Germanic cognates), formed as SELDOM + seen pa. pple of SEE verb.]
Seldom to be seen or met with; rare.