Selma
English
editEtymology
editTaken to use in the 19th century when similar-sounding names, Elma, Thelma, Alma, Wilma, etc. were in vogue. Perhaps a shortening of Anselma, or from the name of a place in the James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of epic poems, itself from Scottish Gaelic sealladh + math (“good vision”). In some cases perhaps borrowed from Turkish Selma, from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
Pronunciation
editProper noun
editSelma (countable and uncountable, plural Selmas)
- (countable) A female given name.
- (countable) A surname.
- A placename
- A community of Nova Scotia, Canada.
- A village in Graubünden canton, Switzerland.
- A place in the United States.
- A city, the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama; named for James Macpherson's Ossianic poem The Songs of Selma.
- A city in Fresno County, California; named for early resident Selma Michelson.
- A city in Texas.
- A town in North Carolina; named for the city in Alabama.
- A town in Indiana.
- A census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon.
- A census-designated place in Virginia.
- An unincorporated community in Arkansas.
- An unincorporated community in Iowa.
- An unincorporated community in Kansas.
- An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for the place in the Ossian cycle.
- An unincorporated community in Ohio.
Translations
edit
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Noun
editSelma (plural Selmas)
- (US, politics, figuratively) A confrontation where authorities brutally repress those wanting civil rights, similar to Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.
- 2020, Dane Smith, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), "Toward a better patriotism", 3 July 2020
- Eventually, our place and response may be viewed as a historic turning point, another Selma for the nation and world.
- 2015, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Workers World, "Black and Brown unity in Alabama", 24 June 2015
- Shelby County has become the new Selma.
- 1986, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka Weekend, p.11, Friday 17 January 1986
- "I don't know how many Selmas you have in your memory," she said. "I have a lot in mine."
- 1965, The Fresno Bee, p.60, Wednesday 21 July 1965:
- How Many Selmas? Still another city in the south Is learning the hard way that the Negro will settle for nothing less than first class citizenship.
- 2020, Dane Smith, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), "Toward a better patriotism", 3 July 2020
Coordinate terms
editAnagrams
editCebuano
editEtymology
editPossibly from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
Proper noun
editSelma
- a surname
Danish
editProper noun
editSelma
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Estonian
editProper noun
editSelma
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Faroese
editPronunciation
editProper noun
editSelma f
- a female given name
Usage notes
editMatronymics
- son of Selma: Selmuson
- daughter of Selma: Selmudóttir
Declension
editsingular | |
---|---|
indefinite | |
nominative | Selma |
accusative | Selmu |
dative | Selmu |
genitive | Selmu |
Finnish
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editProper noun
editSelma
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Declension
editInflection of Selma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | Selma | Selmat | |
genitive | Selman | Selmojen | |
partitive | Selmaa | Selmoja | |
illative | Selmaan | Selmoihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | Selma | Selmat | |
accusative | nom. | Selma | Selmat |
gen. | Selman | ||
genitive | Selman | Selmojen Selmain rare | |
partitive | Selmaa | Selmoja | |
inessive | Selmassa | Selmoissa | |
elative | Selmasta | Selmoista | |
illative | Selmaan | Selmoihin | |
adessive | Selmalla | Selmoilla | |
ablative | Selmalta | Selmoilta | |
allative | Selmalle | Selmoille | |
essive | Selmana | Selmoina | |
translative | Selmaksi | Selmoiksi | |
abessive | Selmatta | Selmoitta | |
instructive | — | Selmoin | |
comitative | See the possessive forms below. |
Statistics
edit- Selma is the 248th (tied with 1 other name) most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 2,147 female individuals (and as a middle name to 612 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.
Anagrams
editIcelandic
editPronunciation
editProper noun
editSelma f (proper noun, genitive singular Selmu)
- a female given name
Declension
editNorwegian
editProper noun
editSelma
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Portuguese
editPronunciation
edit
Proper noun
editSelma f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Serbo-Croatian
editEtymology
editFrom Ottoman Turkish سلمى (selma) (Turkish Selma), from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
Proper noun
editSelma f (Cyrillic spelling Селма)
- a female given name
Declension
editFurther reading
edit- “Selma”, in Portal suvremenih hrvatskih osobnih imena [Portal of contemporary Croatian personal names] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2018–2024
Swedish
editPronunciation
editAudio: (file)
Proper noun
editSelma c (genitive Selmas)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Selma
Anagrams
editTagalog
editEtymology
editBorrowed from English, from various similar-sounding female given names.
Pronunciation
edit- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈselma/ [ˈsɛl.mɐ]
- Rhymes: -elma
- Syllabification: Sel‧ma
Proper noun
editSelma (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜎ᜔ᜋ)
- a female given name from English
Anagrams
editTurkish
editEtymology
editProper noun
editSelma
- a female given name from Arabic
- English terms derived from Scottish Gaelic
- English terms borrowed from Turkish
- English terms derived from Turkish
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English terms derived from the Arabic root س ل م
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English given names
- English female given names
- English surnames
- en:Villages in Canada
- en:Places in Canada
- en:Villages in Switzerland
- en:Places in Switzerland
- en:Places in the United States
- en:Cities in Alabama, USA
- en:Cities in the United States
- en:County seats of Alabama, USA
- en:Places in Alabama, USA
- en:Cities in California, USA
- en:Places in California, USA
- English eponyms
- en:Cities in Texas, USA
- en:Places in Texas, USA
- en:Towns in North Carolina, USA
- en:Towns in the United States
- en:Places in North Carolina, USA
- en:Towns in Indiana, USA
- en:Places in Indiana, USA
- en:Census-designated places in Oregon, USA
- en:Census-designated places in the United States
- en:Places in Oregon, USA
- en:Census-designated places in Virginia, USA
- en:Places in Virginia, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in Arkansas, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in the United States
- en:Places in Arkansas, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in Iowa, USA
- en:Places in Iowa, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in Kansas, USA
- en:Places in Kansas, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in Missouri, USA
- en:Places in Missouri, USA
- en:Unincorporated communities in Ohio, USA
- en:Places in Ohio, USA
- English nouns
- American English
- en:Politics
- English terms with quotations
- Cebuano terms derived from Arabic
- Cebuano lemmas
- Cebuano proper nouns
- Cebuano surnames
- Danish lemmas
- Danish proper nouns
- Danish given names
- Danish female given names
- Estonian lemmas
- Estonian proper nouns
- Estonian given names
- Estonian female given names
- Faroese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Faroese/ɛlma
- Faroese lemmas
- Faroese proper nouns
- Faroese feminine nouns
- Faroese given names
- Faroese female given names
- Finnish terms derived from English
- Finnish 2-syllable words
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Finnish/elmɑ
- Rhymes:Finnish/elmɑ/2 syllables
- Finnish lemmas
- Finnish proper nouns
- Finnish given names
- Finnish female given names
- Finnish kala-type nominals
- Icelandic 2-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɛlma
- Icelandic lemmas
- Icelandic proper nouns
- Icelandic uncountable nouns
- Icelandic feminine nouns
- Icelandic given names
- Icelandic female given names
- Norwegian lemmas
- Norwegian proper nouns
- Norwegian given names
- Norwegian female given names
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese proper nouns
- Portuguese feminine nouns
- Portuguese given names
- Portuguese female given names
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from Arabic
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian proper nouns
- Serbo-Croatian feminine nouns
- Serbo-Croatian given names
- Serbo-Croatian female given names
- Swedish terms with audio pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish proper nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- Swedish given names
- Swedish female given names
- Tagalog terms borrowed from English
- Tagalog terms derived from English
- Tagalog 2-syllable words
- Tagalog terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Tagalog/elma
- Rhymes:Tagalog/elma/2 syllables
- Tagalog terms with malumay pronunciation
- Tagalog lemmas
- Tagalog proper nouns
- Tagalog terms with Baybayin script
- Tagalog given names
- Tagalog female given names
- Tagalog female given names from English
- Turkish terms derived from Arabic
- Turkish terms derived from the Arabic root س ل م
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish proper nouns
- Turkish given names
- Turkish female given names
- Turkish female given names from Arabic