calamite

[ kal-uh-mahyt ]

/ ˈkæl əˌmaɪt /

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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.

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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/, adjectiveca·lam·i·toid

[kuh-lam-i-toid], /kəˈlæm ɪˌtɔɪd/, adjective

Words nearby calamite

calamata olive, Calamian Islands, calamine, calamine brass, calamint, calamite, calamitous, calamity, Calamity Jane, calamondin, calamus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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

Word Origin for 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