alma
al·ma/ˈæl.mə/noun
alma is spelled A-L-M-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables (al·ma). It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Alma, the name). As a noun, alma means “An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of alma is almas or awalim.
How many letters and syllables are in alma?
| Letters | 4: A-L-M-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: al·ma |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is alma?
Alma appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Alma, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce alma?
- /ˈæl.mə/
Alma has 2 syllables, split al·ma in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-alma.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with alma?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as alma.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lama, mala, amla, laam.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of alma
- almas plural
- awalim plural
- almah
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alma mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.
noun
- 1
Acronym of Asian land mammal age.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does alma come from?
From colloquial Arabic عَالِمَة (ʕālima, “a singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning learned, knowledgeable, from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).