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calamus
8 dictionary results for: Calamus
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cal·a·mus       [kal-uh-muhs] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -mi       [-mahy] Pronunciation Key.
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.


[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L < Gk kálamos reed, stalk]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cal·a·mus       (kāl'ə-məs)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. cal·a·mi (-mī')
    1. See sweet flag.
    2. The aromatic underground stem of the sweet flag, yielding an oil used in perfumery.
  1. Any of various chiefly tropical Asian climbing palms of the genus Calamus, having strong flexible stems used as a source of rattan.
  2. See quill.


[Latin, reed, from Greek kalamos.]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
quill       (kwĭl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. The hollow stemlike main shaft of a feather. Also called calamus.
  2. Any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird.
  3. A writing pen made from the shaft of a feather.
  4. Music
    1. A plectrum for a stringed instrument of the clavichord type.
    2. A pipe having a hollow stem.
  5. A toothpick made from the stem of a feather.
  6. One of the sharp hollow spines of a porcupine or hedgehog.
  7. A spindle or bobbin around which yarn is wound in weaving.
  8. A hollow shaft that rotates on a solid shaft when gears are engaged.

tr.v.   quilled, quill·ing, quills
  1. To wind (thread or yarn) onto a quill.
  2. To make or press small ridges in (fabric).


[Middle English quil.]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sweet flag  
n.   A hardy perennial herb (Acorus calamus) of the Northern Hemisphere, growing in marshy places and having grasslike leaves, minute greenish flowers borne on a thick spadix, and aromatic rhizomes. Also called calamus.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
calamus

noun
1. any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus; light tough stems are a source of rattan canes 
2. the aromatic root of the sweet flag used medicinally 
3. perennial marsh plant having swordlike leaves and aromatic roots [syn: sweet flag
4. a genus of Sparidae 
5. the hollow spine of a feather [syn: quill

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Calamus, IA (city, FIPS 9820) Location: 41.82665 N, 90.75967 W
Population (1990): 379 (170 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 52729

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

calamus

Cal"a*mus\, n.; pl. Calami. [L., a reed. See Halm.]

1. (Bot.) The indian cane, a plant of the Palm family. It furnishes the common rattan. See Rattan, and Dragon's blood.

2. (Bot.) A species of Acorus (A. calamus), commonly called calamus, or sweet flag. The root has a pungent, aromatic taste, and is used in medicine as a stomachic; the leaves have an aromatic odor, and were formerly used instead of rushes to strew on floors.

3. (Zo["o]l.) The horny basal portion of a feather; the barrel or quill.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Calamus

the Latin for cane, Hebrew _Kaneh_, mentioned (Ex. 30:23) as one of the ingredients in the holy anointing oil, one of the sweet scents (Cant. 4:14), and among the articles sold in the markets of Tyre (Ezek. 27:19). The word designates an Oriental plant called the "sweet flag," the Acorus calamus of Linnaeus. It is elsewhere called "sweet cane" (Isa. 43:24; Jer. 6:20). It has an aromatic smell, and when its knotted stalk is cut and dried and reduced to powder, it forms an ingredient in the most precious perfumes. It was not a native of Palestine, but was imported from Arabia Felix or from India. It was probably that which is now known in India by the name of "lemon grass" or "ginger grass," the Andropogon schoenanthus. (See CANE.)

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