Selwyn

name, slang

name, slang ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname transferred from the given name.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Old English transferred back from the surname, in quiet use since the 19th century.
  3. 3
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A river in Canterbury, New Zealand, named after Bishop George Selwyn; in full, Selwyn River.
  4. 4
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A small settlement on the south side of the river in Canterbury, New Zealand.
  5. 5
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A territorial authority of Canterbury, New Zealand, named after the river; in full, Selwyn District.
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A locality, formerly a mining town in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia, named after the Selwyn Range.
  2. 7
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A locality in Alpine Shire, north eastern Victoria, Australia.
  3. 8
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; A township in Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada, renamed from Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield in 2013.
  4. 9
    Any of a number of places in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.; An unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States.
  5. 10
    Ellipsis of Selwyn College, Cambridge. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal

Etymology

From the Middle English form of Latin Silvanus. Also from the Old English given name Selewine, from sel (“hall”) + wine (“friend”). The places are named after bearers of the surname.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.