sema

¹ American  

[se-mah, say-mah] / sɛˈmɑ, ˈseɪ mɑ /

noun

1. Islam. a ritual in the Sufi tradition, combining the recitation of poetry, chanting of passages from the Quran, music, vocal and instrumental music, and dancing by whirling dervishes.

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sema ² American  

[say-mah] / ˈseɪ mɑ /

noun

1. in Anishinaabe culture, tobacco, viewed as a sacred plant and used in prayer and offerings to the Creator.

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sema ³ American  

[see-muh] / ˈsi mə /

noun

• semas
  plural

1. Linguistics. (in semiotics) a unit of meaning; sememe.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• semas
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sema

“They wanted to preserve the dance in its original form and not just be a tourist attraction,” said Philip Jacobs, who has been whirling for 43 years and still leads twice-monthly sema ceremonies in London.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2019

Inspired, other sects started to spread his dance, called the sema, throughout the Ottoman Empire.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2019

These rules aren’t in place just because the sema is a religious ceremony to be treated respectfully.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2019

During this period, Turkish dervishes worked to spread the dance outside their country to preserve the pure sema traditions.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2019

With much emotion he replied, "Inshullah tukodee jenb il Messiah fe melakoot is sema!"

From The Women of the Arabs by Charles S. (Charles Seymour) Robinson