English

Noun

selva ‎(plural selvas)

1. Heavily forested ground in the Amazon basin.

Anagrams

• avels, salve, Slavé, slave, vales

Asturian

Noun

selva f ‎(plural selves)

1. rainforest

Catalan

Noun

selva f ‎(plural selves)

1. jungle, rainforest

Italian

Etymology

From Latin silva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈselva/, [ˈs̪el̺.vä]
• Hyphenation: sél‧va

Noun

selva f ‎(plural selve)

1. forest, wood
   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Inferno, Le Monnier (1994), Canto I, p. 5, vv. 1-3:

     Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita ¶ mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, ¶ ché la diritta via era smarrita.

     Midway upon the journey of our life ¶ I found myself within a forest dark, ¶ for the straight-forward pathway had been lost.

2. (by extension, poetic) wood (material), woodland
   • 1374, Francesco Petrarca, Il Canzoniere, Andrea Bettini (1858), p.188, Capitolo XIII:

     [...] e non si trasformasse in verde selva, ¶ per uscirmi di braccia come il giorno ¶ che Apollo la seguia quaggiù per terra.

     [...] and may she not be changed to green woodland, ¶ issuing from my arms, as on the day ¶ when Apollo pursued her down here on earth.

3. (figuratively) mass, multitude, forest
   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Inferno, Le Monnier (1994), Canto IV, p. 57, vv. 64-66:

     Non lasciavam l'andar perch'ei dicessi, ¶ ma passavam la selva tuttavia, ¶ la selva, dico, di spiriti spessi.

     We ceased not to advance because he spake, ¶ but still were passing onward through the forest, ¶ the forest, say I, of thick-crowded ghosts.

Synonyms

• bosco
• foresta

Derived terms

• selvatico
• selvicoltore
• selvicultore

Anagrams

• salve, slave, svela, valse

Latvian

Noun

selva f (4th declension)

1. selva

Declension

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin silva, from Proto-Indo-European *swel-, *sel- ‎(“mountain, ridge, forest”). Compare the doublet silva.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɫ.vɐ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛw.va/, /ˈsɛw.vɐ/
• Hyphenation: sel‧va

Noun

selva f (plural selvas)

1. jungle

   O leão é o rei da selva.‎

   The lion is the king of the jungle.

2. woods, forest
3. (figuratively) mass, multitude, forest

Quotations

• 1844: O apertado revolver das armas formava uma selva de ferros em volta dos dois capitães inimigos, através da qual debalde o conde de Septum buscara multas vezes abrir caminho para ferir Teodomiro, até que finalmente, galgando por cima de um árabe derribado, pudera vibrar um golpe. — Alexandre Herculano, "Eurico, o Presbítero".

Synonyms

• floresta

Derived terms

• selvagem
• selvageria
• silvícola
• silvicultura

Spanish

Selva (rain forest).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈselβa/

Etymology

From Latin silva.

Noun

selva f ‎(plural selvas)

1. (forestry) forest or jungle, wood, chiefly a rain forest

Derived terms

• La Selva
• selvático

Related terms

• salvaje
• silvicultura

See also

• bosque m
• jungla f

Anagrams