السَّلْمَاء

, according to Aboo-Mis-hal, as meaning The earth, occurs in the prov., أَنْفٌ قِى المَاءِ وَاسْتٌ فِى السَّلْمَاءِ [A nose in the water and a rump on the earth]: and if this be correct, it may be derived from سلام [i. e. سِلَامٌ] meaning “ stones: ” and it may be originally ↓ السَّلْمَى, and lengthened for the sake of the rhyme. (Ham p. 214.) [But the reading commonly known is, أَنْفٌ فِى السَّلْمَاءِ وَاسْتٌ فِى المَاءِ.]