Selma
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Selma
- /ˈsɛlmə/
Rhymes with -ɛlmə
Where it comes from
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).
proper noun Selmas
- A female given name.
- A surname.
- A community in Nova Scotia, Canada.
- A village in Graubünden canton, Switzerland.
- 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.”
- 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.
noun Selmas
- A confrontation where authorities brutally repress those wanting civil rights, similar to Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. Eventually, our place and response may be viewed as a historic turning point, another Selma for the nation and world.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: salma, montgomery, peaceful, zelma, anselma, salina, sabra, sallie, salem, amal, selah, selina, sarabel, sarabelle, jamila, yasmina
Translations
Talk about this word "Selma." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/selma. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Selma. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/selma "Selma." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/selma.Cite this
@misc{selma_2026,
title = {Selma},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/selma},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
