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calamus

American  
[kal-uh-muhs] / ˈkæl ə məs /

noun

calami plural

  1. the sweet flag, Acorus calamus.

  2. its aromatic root.

  3. any of various tropical Asian palms of the genus Calamus, some of which are a source of rattan.

  4. the hollow base of a feather; a quill.

calamus British  
/ ˈkæləməs /

noun

  1. any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus, some species of which are a source of rattan and canes

  2. another name for sweet flag

  3. the aromatic root of the sweet flag

  4. ornithol the basal hollow shaft of a feather; quill

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of calamus

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek kálamos reed, stalk

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.

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