Alma
//ˈæl.mə// name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.
Proper Noun
- 1 A female given name from Latin, popular in the 19th century.
"Alma she called was, a virgin bright:/ That had not yet felt Cupides wanton rage,/ Yet was she woo'd of many a gentle knight […]"
- 2 Nonstandard form of ALMA, acronym of Atacama Large Millimeter Array. alt-of, nonstandard
- 3 Abbreviation of Atacama Large Millimeter Array (a telescope in Chile). abbreviation, alt-of
- 4 One of two prophets, the Elder and the Younger, and a book in the Book of Mormon. Mormonism
- 5 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clarke County, Alabama.
Show 27 more definitions
- 6 Places in the United States:; A city in Crawford County, Arkansas.
- 7 Places in the United States:; A ghost town in Santa Clara County, California.
- 8 Places in the United States:; A statutory town in Park County, Colorado.
- 9 Places in the United States:; A city, the county seat of Bacon County, Georgia.
- 10 Places in the United States:; A village in Marion County, Illinois.
- 11 Places in the United States:; A ghost town in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.
- 12 Places in the United States:; A small city, the county seat of Wabaunsee County, Kansas.
- 13 Places in the United States:; A city in Gratiot County, Michigan.
- 14 Places in the United States:; A small city in Lafayette County, Missouri.
- 15 Places in the United States:; A small city, the county seat of Harlan County, Nebraska.
- 16 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Catron County, New Mexico.
- 17 Places in the United States:; A town in Allegany County, New York.
- 18 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Ross County, Ohio.
- 19 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Stephens County, Oklahoma.
- 20 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon.
- 21 Places in the United States:; A town in Ellis County, Texas.
- 22 Places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Page County, Virginia.
- 23 Places in the United States:; A small city, the county seat of Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
- 24 Places in the United States:; A town in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
- 25 Places in the United States:; A town in Jackson County, Wisconsin.
- 26 Places in Canada:; A village in Albert County, New Brunswick.
- 27 Places in Canada:; An unincorporated rural community of Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
- 28 Places in Canada:; An unincorporated rural community of Wellington County, Ontario.
- 29 Places in Canada:; A settlement in Prince Edward Island.
- 30 Places in Canada:; A town in Quebec.
- 31 A locality in the Shire of Central Goldfields, central Victoria, Australia
- 32 Former name of Boudouaou, Algeria.
Example
More examples"To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From colloquial Arabic عَالِمَة (ʕālima, “a singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning learned, knowledgeable, from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”).
Etymology 2
Usually explained as Latin alma (“nourishing, kind”). It has also been used as a short form of Germanic compound names beginning with the element Amal-, as in Amelia.
Related phrases
More for "alma"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.