calamus

4 definitions found

calamus - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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
        .
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) A species of Acorus (Acorus 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Zool.) The horny basal portion of a feather; the barrel
        or quill.
        [1913 Webster]

calamus - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  calamus
      n 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, calamus, sweet calamus, myrtle   flag
         , flagroot, Acorus calamus]
      4: a genus of Sparidae [syn: Calamus, genus Calamus]
      5: the hollow spine of a feather [syn: quill, calamus,
         shaft]

calamus - Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary :

  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.)

calamus - U.S. Gazetteer (1990) :

  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