Editing Basel (section)

== Name ==
{{anchor|Name}}
The name of Basel is first recorded as ''Basilia'' in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to the [[Basel oppidum|Roman castle]]. This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name ''Basilius'', from a toponym ''villa Basilia'' ("[[Roman villa|estate]] of Basilius") or similar.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benpenhill |title=Why is Basel called Basel? |url=https://profound-advice.com/why-is-basel-called-basel/ |website=Profound-Advice |access-date=17 June 2023 |archive-date=17 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617062657/https://profound-advice.com/why-is-basel-called-basel/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Another suggestion derives it from a name ''Basilia'' attested in northern France as a development of ''basilica'', the term for a public or church building (as in [[Bazeilles]]), but all of these names reference early church buildings of the 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of ''Basilia''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://search.ortsnamen.ch/de/|title= Basel|website= ortsnamen.ch|access-date= 10 February 2020|quote= einem nordgalloromanischen Ortsnamentypus *basilia (Fellmann 1981: 48s) gestellt.|archive-date= 17 December 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191217075845/https://search.ortsnamen.ch/de/|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Kristol">''Basileam applicuerunt'' (AD 237 or 238). Andres Kristol: ''Basel BS (Basel Stadt)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – [[Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen]] – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS|LSG).'' Centre de dialectologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld/Stuttgart/Wien 2005, {{ISBN|3-7193-1308-5}} und Éditions Payot, Lausanne 2005, {{ISBN|2-601-03336-3}}, S.&nbsp;125.</ref>

By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the [[basilisk]] becomes closely associated with the city, used as [[heraldic supporter]] from 1448, represented on coins minted by the city, and frequently found in ornaments.

The [[Middle French]] form {{lang|frm|Basle}} was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used with the modern French pronunciation in some sections of [[British English]],<ref>{{cite web |title=How to say Basel/Bâle/Basle/Basilea |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2011/09/how_to_say_baselbalebaslebasil.shtml |website=BBC News |access-date=29 May 2022 |date=30 September 2011 |archive-date=29 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529143820/https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2011/09/how_to_say_baselbalebaslebasil.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Basle air crash: Memorial service marks 40th anniversary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-22094227 |access-date=29 May 2022 |date=10 April 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> at least informally. Currently, the spelling ''Basel'' is most often used, to match the official German spelling.<ref>{{cite news |title=Man tells of axe escape from Basel plane crash |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-65179800 |access-date=18 May 2025 |work=BBC News |date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Basel calling... |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002bq5k |access-date=18 May 2025 |work=BBC Sounds |date=16 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Austria’s JJ wins Eurovision as UK finishes 19th |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2025-05-18/austrias-jj-wins-eurovision-as-israel-comes-second |access-date=18 May 2025 |work=ITV News |date=18 May 2025}}</ref> In French {{lang|fr|Basle}} was still in use in the 18th century, but was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling {{lang|fr|Bâle}}. In Icelandic, the city is recorded as {{lang|is|Buslaraborg}} in the 12th-century itinerary ''[[Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan]]''.