Norma
name, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A norm.
- 2 A template.
- 3 A square for measuring right angles.
- 1 A female given name originating as a coinage.
"I wish I could remember that girl's Christian name. Something connected with a song...Thora? Speak to me, Thora, Thora, Thora. Something like that, or Myra? Myra, oh Myra my love is all for thee... Norma? Or do I mean Maritana? Norma - Norma Restarick. That's right, I'm sure."
- 2 An inconspicuous constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a carpenter's square. It lies south of the constellations Scorpius and Centaurus.
Example
More examples"I wish I could remember that girl's Christian name. Something connected with a song...Thora? Speak to me, Thora, Thora, Thora. Something like that, or Myra? Myra, oh Myra my love is all for thee... Norma? Or do I mean Maritana? Norma - Norma Restarick. That's right, I'm sure."
Etymology
Coined name of an imaginary Celtic priestess in Bellini's opera Norma (1831). Sometimes explained as Latin norma (“pattern, model”), or as a feminine form of Norman.
Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin norma (“a carpenter's square”).
Borrowed from Latin norma. Doublet of norm.
Related phrases
More for "norma"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.