sweet flag

noun

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 of sweet calamus

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.
The Old House and Other Tales
Feodor Sologub
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.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 77, March, 1864
Various
Its home is a hole in the ground, and boys often amuse themselves by running pieces of sweet-flag in the hole.
Harper's Young People, August 31, 1880
Various

British Dictionary definitions for sweet calamus

sweet flag

noun

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

Word Origin for sweet flag

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