CALAMUS (calami)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: calami   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Calamus mean? 

• CALAMUS (noun)
  The noun CALAMUS has 5 senses:

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

4. a genus of Sparidae

5. the hollow spine of a feather

  Familiarity information: CALAMUS used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CALAMUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus; light tough stems are a source of rattan canes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("calamus" is a kind of...):

palm; palm tree (any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leaves)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "calamus"):

Calamus rotang; rattan; rattan palm (climbing palm of Sri Lanka and southern India remarkable for the great length of the stems which are used for malacca canes)

Calamus australis; lawyer cane (tall scrambling spiny palm of northeastern Queensland, Australia)

Holonyms ("calamus" is a member of...):

genus Calamus (distinctive often spiny-stemmed palms found as climbers in tropical and subtropical forest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The aromatic root of the sweet flag used medicinally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("calamus" is a kind of...):

root ((botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground)

Holonyms ("calamus" is a part of...):

Acorus calamus; calamus; flagroot; myrtle flag; sweet calamus; sweet flag (perennial marsh plant having swordlike leaves and aromatic roots)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Perennial marsh plant having swordlike leaves and aromatic roots

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Acorus calamus; calamus; flagroot; myrtle flag; sweet calamus; sweet flag

Hypernyms ("calamus" is a kind of...):

bog plant; marsh plant; swamp plant (a semiaquatic plant that grows in soft wet land; most are monocots: sedge, sphagnum, grasses, cattails, etc; possibly heath)

Meronyms (parts of "calamus"):

calamus (the aromatic root of the sweet flag used medicinally)

Meronyms (substance of "calamus"):

calamus oil (carcinogenic oil from calamus root used as a perfume)

Holonyms ("calamus" is a member of...):

Acorus; genus Acorus (sweet flags; sometimes placed in subfamily Acoraceae)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A genus of Sparidae

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Calamus; genus Calamus

Hypernyms ("Calamus" is a kind of...):

fish genus (any of various genus of fish)

Meronyms (members of "Calamus"):

Calamus penna; sheepshead porgy (from Florida and Bahamas to Brazil)

Holonyms ("Calamus" is a member of...):

family Sparidae; Sparidae (porgies; scups)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The hollow spine of a feather

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

calamus; quill; shaft

Hypernyms ("calamus" is a kind of...):

rib (a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant)

Holonyms ("calamus" is a part of...):

feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)

 Context examples 

Calamus oil is used in the treatment of digestive disorders and as a nervous system stimulant.

(Calamus Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

The essential oil from the rhizome of Acorus calamus.

(Calamus Oil, NCI Thesaurus)