selva
Americannoun
noun
-
dense equatorial forest, esp in the Amazon basin, characterized by tall broad-leaved evergreen trees, epiphytes, lianas, etc
-
a tract of such forest
Etymology
Origin of selva
First recorded in 1840–50; from Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese: literally “forest,” from Latin silva; see origin at silva ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing selva
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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South America - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The organizers appeared to turn the word “selva,” or jungle, into “Selma” by replacing the letter V with the letter M. The word selva is directly linked to the armed forces and its veterans.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 9, 2023
Y lo que es más importante, hay más de 500 pueblos indígenas distintos en la selva amazónica.
From Scientific American • Nov. 12, 2022
El río Amazonas alimenta una selva tropical de 7,4 millones de km2, casi el equivalente al área terrestre de los EE.UU. contiguos.
From Scientific American • Nov. 12, 2022
Una pareja y un guía son secuestrados en la selva de Belice por extraterrestres que buscan ojos para sus semejantes.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2020
The following passage, from the twenty-eighth canto of the Purgatorio, will illustrate our meaning:— "In questa altezza che tutta è disciolta Nell'aer vivo, tal moto percuote, E fa sonar la selva perch' è folta."
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
