calamite

[ kal-uh-mahyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any fossil plant of the genus Calamites and related genera of the Carboniferous Period, resembling oversized horsetails and constituting much of the coal used as fuel.

calamite

/ ˈkæləˌmaɪt /

any extinct treelike plant of the genus Calamites, of Carboniferous times, related to the horsetails

1745–55; < New Latin Calamites the genus name, Latin calamītēs < Greek kalamī́tēs reedlike. See calamus, -ite ¹

C19: from New Latin Calamītes type genus, from Greek kalamitēs reedlike, from kalamos reed

Among tissue petrifactions there are many Calamite stems of various stages of growth.

Calamite, kal′a-mīt, n. a fossil plant abundant in the coal-measures, believed to be a kind of gigantic horse-tails (Equisetace).

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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