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becalm

 - 3 dictionary results

be⋅calm

[bi-kahm]
–verb (used with object)
1. to deprive (a sailing vessel) of the wind necessary to move it; subject to a calm: The schooner was becalmed in the horse latitudes for two weeks.
2. Archaic. to calm; pacify.

Origin:
1550–60; be- + calm
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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be·calm   (bĭ-käm')   
tr.v.   be·calmed, be·calm·ing, be·calms
  1. To render motionless for lack of wind: "Across the harbor, a small sailing skiff, becalmed near some reeds, caught the breeze again" (Horace Freeland Judson).

  2. To make calm or still; soothe.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

becalm 
1559, from be- + calm (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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