calamite

[ kal-uh-mahyt ]

noun

any fossil plant of the genus Calamites and related genera of the Carboniferous Period, resembling oversized horsetails and constituting much of the coal used as fuel.

Origin of calamite

1745–55; <New Latin Calamites the genus name, Latin calamītēs<Greek kalamī́tēs reedlike. See calamus, -ite¹

Other words from calamite

cal·a·mi·te·an [kal-uh-mahy-tee-uhn], /ˌkæl əˈmaɪ ti ən/, adjective
ca·lam·i·toid [kuh-lam-i-toid], /kəˈlæm ɪˌtɔɪd/, adjective

Words Nearby calamite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use calamite in a sentence

Among tissue petrifactions there are many calamite stems of various stages of growth.
Ancient Plants | Marie C. Stopes
calamite, kal′a-mīt, n. a fossil plant abundant in the coal-measures, believed to be a kind of gigantic horse-tails (Equisetace).
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for calamite

calamite

/ (ˈkæləˌmaɪt) /

noun

any extinct treelike plant of the genus Calamites, of Carboniferous times, related to the horsetails

Origin of calamite

C19: from New Latin Calamītes type genus, from Greek kalamitēs reedlike, from kalamos reed

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

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