selles

Selles is a term that appears in French with several distinct meanings, depending on context. In everyday French, the plural noun selles can refer to stools or feces, i.e., bowel movements, and is used in medical, veterinary, or descriptive language to discuss digestion and excretion.

A second, unrelated sense concerns the saddle. In French, la selle means a saddle or seat for riding, and the plural selles can refer to multiple saddles or saddle-related parts. This sense is common in discussions of equestrian equipment or horse riding.

Geographically, Selles can appear as part of place names in French-speaking regions. There are localities and historical places that include the element Selles in longer toponyms, or occasionally as standalone names. The precise locations and administrative status of such places can vary over time with territorial reforms.

Etymology and distinctions are important because the two uses of selle—one related to stools and excretion, the other to saddles—are derived from different senses of the same French word in modern usage. The excrement-related sense traces to the Latin sella meaning chair or seat in a physiological context, while the saddle sense comes from the same root but has developed separately as a term for riding gear. In English-language texts, the English equivalents stool or stools are typically used for the excretion sense, and saddle for the riding equipment sense.