calamus

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)Sweet flag (Acorus calamus).

   “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices”

2. (uncountable, usually)A quill; the hard, horny, hollow, and more or less transparent part of the stem or scape of a feather.

   “Thus, the four distinct feather parts that have been compared as to amino acid content to note whether or not the composition is uniform are rachis, barbs, calamus and medulla.”

   “In follicles late in feather growth, after rupture of the feather sheath, this canal contained the upper part of the calamus.”

   “Chapin asserted that the calamus is firmly fixed in the wing”

3. (uncountable, usually)A fish of genus Calamus in family Sparidae; certain porgies.
4. (uncountable, usually)A palm in genus Calamus, of rattan palms.
5. (uncountable, usually)A fistular stem without an articulation.
6. (historical, uncountable, usually)Synonym of fistula (“tube for sucking Eucharist wine”).

name

1. A small town in Clinton County, Iowa, United States, named after a creek.
2. A town in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States.