calm

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“
After the storm the calm, and although, with my dear Aunt, the calm is almost the more devastating, I trust you will acquit yourself with fortitude And now we come to the only valid objection, which you have, strong- mindedly, left until the last--my prospective father-in-law!

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Definitions (37)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. adjective Nearly or completely motionless; undisturbed: the calm surface of the lake.
  2. adjective Not excited or agitated; composed: The President was calm throughout the global crisis.
  3. noun An absence or cessation of motion; stillness.
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Examples (50)

  • The climax is no sooner reached than its reaction sets in, and a moment later the calm is as flat as the storm was frenzied. —  The Guinguette By The Seine - Maigret 11 - Georges Simenon
  • Yet I had a notion that her calm was an enforced thing, for no woman had ever more self-control, and that her anxiety would never sleep till she saw me again. —  THE ISLAND OF SHEEP
  • I recall a calm, unpretentious man with whom it was instantly easy to chat. —  University Diaries
  • The morning was calm, someone commented on Fox the calm is actually normal right before a cold front moves in this time of year .... when it hit it hit fast and a deep sea fishing boat came back in early because they were taking waves over the bow and it was miserable. —  Latest Articles
  • According to Stuck, keeping himself and the player calm is an integral part in handling such situations. —  Washington Redskins, Washington Capitals, and NFL Draft Articles
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

quiet ·  cool ·  serene ·  steady ·  intelligent

Used in the same contextWord Family

calm:   calmer ·  calmest ·  calmed ·  calming
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English calme, from Old French, from Old Italian calmo, from Late Latin cauma, heat of the day, resting place in the heat of the day, from Greek kauma, burning heat, from kaiein, to burn. N., from Middle English calme, from Italian calma, from Vulgar Latin *calma, from Late Latin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. I. n. Early modern English also caulm, caum, cawm, from Middle English calme (= Dutch kalm-te = Low German kalm, later G. kalm), from Old French calme, French calme = Spanish Italian Pg, calma, calm, calmness, still weather, = Provencal chaume, the time when the flocks rest (cf. French chómer, formerly chaumer, rest), orig., as still in Spanish and Portuguese, heat, the hot part of the day (cf. F. dial, caumas, hot—Cotgrave), from Late Latin cauma, the heat of the sun, from Greek καῡμα, great heat, from καίειν, burn: see cauma and caustic. The l is unoriginal, being due to conformation with L. calor, heat, or with words like palm (Latin palma), etc. II. a. from Middle English calme (= Dutch kalm), from Old French calme, French calme (Middle Latin calmus); from the noun.
  2. from Middle English calmen (= French calmer = Spanish Portuguese calmar = Italian calmare), intransitive, become still; from the noun.
  3. English dial, and Scots also caum, caulm; apparently a variant of cam, a comb, cog, etc.: see cam.
 

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/kɑm/
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