[kal-uh-muhs] Pronunciation Key
[-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. |
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| cal·a·mus
(kāl'ə-məs) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. cal·a·mi (-mī')
[Latin, reed, from Greek kalamos.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| quill
(kwĭl) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. quilled, quill·ing, quills
[Middle English quil.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| 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. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| 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] |
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
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.
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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