calamus
Americannoun
-
the sweet flag, Acorus calamus.
-
its aromatic root.
-
any of various tropical Asian palms of the genus Calamus, some of which are a source of rattan.
-
the hollow base of a feather; a quill.
noun
-
any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus, some species of which are a source of rattan and canes
-
another name for sweet flag
-
the aromatic root of the sweet flag
-
ornithol the basal hollow shaft of a feather; quill
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of calamus
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek kálamos reed, stalk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the garden grow "an orchard of pomegranates . . . spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense".
From The Guardian ● Jan. 29, 2011
Reed is the core or central part of the climbing calamus, a species of palm found in the jungles of Borneo and adjacent South Sea islands.
From Construction Work for Rural and Elementary Schools by McGaw, Virginia
Cane, kān, n. the stem of one of the smaller palms—the calamus or rattan, or the larger grasses—bamboo and sugar-cane: a walking-stick.—v.t. to beat with a cane.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Garlic, calamus aromaticus, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, each, 1 drachm.
From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by Piesse, George William Septimus
These were calamus, bloodroot, snakeroot, slippery elm, tansy, and scores that I do not remember the names of.
From The Life of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson by Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift
It can, therefore, have been a mere lapsus calami on her part, as this eminently sensible woman was incapable of the silly weakness of concealing her age.
From Maria Edgeworth by Zimmern, Helen
This should be Fort Clark, not Fort Leavenworth—an evident lapsus calami.
From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Maximilian, Alexander Philipp
He could hardly have known of the two G's, from the sound; but the omission of the cross-bar from the one that was de rigueur was certainly a lapsus calami, and a serious one.
From When Ghost Meets Ghost by De Morgan, William Frend
I think this must have been a lapsus calami on Voltaire's part, because it is unlikely that he would have invented such a story.
From The Koran (Al-Qur'an) by Sale, George
This contains "oleum calami," and the bitter principle "acorin."
From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
