Salem

[ sey-luhm ]

noun

1. a seaport in northeastern Massachusetts: founded 1626; site of witch hunt 1692–93; home of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
2. a city in and the capital of Oregon, in the northwestern part, on the Willamette River.
3. a town in southeastern New Hampshire.
4. a town in southwestern Virginia, near Roanoke.
5. a city in eastern Ohio.
6. a city in central Tamil Nadu, in southern India.
7. an ancient city of Canaan, later identified with Jerusalem. Genesis 14:18; Psalms 76:2.

Salem

/ ˈseɪləm /

noun

1. a city in S India, in Tamil Nadu: textile industries. Pop: 693 236 (2001)
2. a city in NE Massachusetts, on the Atlantic: scene of the execution of 19 people after the witch hunts of 1692. Pop: 42 067 (2003 est)
3. a city in the NW USA, the state capital of Oregon: food-processing. Pop: 142 914 (2003 est)
4. an Old Testament name for Jerusalem (Genesis 14:18; Psalms 76:2) See Jerusalem

Word History and Origins

Origin of Salem¹

From Late Latin Salem, from Greek Salḗm, from Hebrew Shālēm, a name of uncertain origin and meaning, but traditionally interpreted as a synonym of Jerusalem and associated in meaning with shālōm “peace”; Jerusalem ( def )

Example Sentences

This sort of reduction of a place to the scariest story ever told involving it is why Salem, Massachusetts, is forced to host so many ghost tours.

From Washington Post

At the beginning of the pandemic when companies were sending employees home and wanting to help them pay bills for electricity and utilities, there wasn’t any instrument to help them do so, Salem said.

From TechCrunch

Everyone in the region is waiting to see what will happen when Salem dies.

From Washington Post

Much bigger than the one incident people know about in Salem.

From Freakonomics

Meanwhile, funding rounds are swelling, even early-stage ones, Bain’s Salem points out.

From Fortune

She faces a jury of famous villains and a judge from the Salem witch trials.

From The Daily Beast

After missing that mark with the empty-calorie fluff of Salem, WGN is nailing it with Manhattan.

From The Daily Beast

That, plus the Moravian fondness for documenting everything, gives Salem its claim to the first-ever Fourth of July celebration.

From The Daily Beast

Salem was established as its center in 1766, with five outlying congregations.

From The Daily Beast

Salem the prep school kid felt so slighted by a paltry $3 million bonus in 2011 that he left the firm.

From The Daily Beast

The general court of Massachusetts met at Salem, and chose delegates to the first congress.

From Project Gutenberg

John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, arrived at Salem, with the charter of the colony.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no war then, and he shipped as second-mate on a merchant vessel sailing from Salem.

From Project Gutenberg

The whole loss of the Rebels in the fight at Salem Church was nearly two thousand.

From Project Gutenberg

And so they went to Salem, and some places thereabout, to visit and build up their friends in the faith.

From Project Gutenberg