Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
Selma en · NOUN
Pronunciation
/ˈsɛlmə/
Etymology
Taken 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).
Meanings
(US, figuratively) A confrontation where authorities brutally repress those wanting civil rights, similar to Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.
"I don't know how many Selmas you have in your memory," she said. "I have a lot in mine." 1986, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka Weekend, p.11, Friday 17 January 1986
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. 1965, The Fresno Bee, p.60, Wednesday 21 July 1965:
Eventually, our place and response may be viewed as a historic turning point, another Selma for the nation and world. 2020, Dane Smith, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), "Toward a better patriotism", 3 July 2020
Shelby County has become the new Selma. 2015, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Workers World, "Black and Brown unity in Alabama", 24 June 2015
Taken 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).
Meanings
(countable) A female given name.
(countable) A surname.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A community in Nova Scotia, Canada.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A village in Graubünden canton, Switzerland.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ 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.
So when King – who had been in Atlanta for “Bloody Sunday” – telegrammed Parks about returning to Alabama to take part in a third mass march from Selma to Montgomery, her immediate answer was “Why, of course.” 2015 March 5, Douglas Brinkley, “Selma’s historic bridge deserves a better name”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2015:
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A city in Fresno County, California; named for early resident Selma Michelson.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A city in Texas.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A town in North Carolina; named for the city in Alabama.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A town in Indiana.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ A census-designated place in Virginia.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ An unincorporated community in Arkansas.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ An unincorporated community in Iowa.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ An unincorporated community in Kansas.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for the place in the Ossian cycle.
(countable, uncountable) A placename ▸ A place in the United States. ▸ An unincorporated community in Ohio.
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
Selmas
Number=Plur
lexicographic
Translations (17)
is Selma (female given name) · tr Selma (female given name) · no Selma (female given name) · pt Selma (female given name) · ru Сальма (female given name) · fo Selma (female given name) · fa سلما (female given name) · es Salma (female given name) · lmo Selme (village in Switzerland) · da Selma (female given name) · fi Selma (female given name) · sh Selma (female given name) · sh Селма (female given name) · ar سَلْمَى (female given name) · sv Selma (female given name) · ru Сельма (female given name) · cmn 塞爾瑪 /塞尔玛 (female given name)