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sweet flag

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noun
  1. a plant, Acorus calamus, of the arum family, having long, sword-shaped leaves and a pungent, aromatic rootstock.

Origin of sweet flag

First recorded in 1775–85
Also called sweet calamus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sweet calamus

Historical Examples

  • John was delighted that the lady should like sweet-flag, and that she was pleased to accept it from him.

    Being a Boy

    Charles Dudley Warner

  • There, close to the window, hangs a sprig of sweet-flag, banishing all evil.

  • Sweet-Flag deteriorates with age and is subject to the attacks of worms.

    Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants

    A. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding

  • He is as genuine, as wholesome and real as sweet-flag and clover.

  • Its home is a hole in the ground, and boys often amuse themselves by running pieces of sweet-flag in the hole.

British Dictionary definitions for sweet calamus

sweet flag

noun
  1. an aroid marsh plant, Acorus calamus, having swordlike leaves, small greenish flowers, and aromatic rootsAlso called: calamus

Word Origin

C18: see flag ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012