Dictionary / calm
calm
- adjective
- noun
- verb
- from Middle French
Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and anxiety.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “calm” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
adjective
- Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and anxiety.
- Free of noise and disturbance.
Calm is the morn without a sound, Calm as to suit a calmer grief, And only thro’ the faded leaf The chestnut pattering to the ground: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
- with few or no waves on the surface; not rippled.
- Without wind or storm.
- Multicultural London EnglishslangGood; alright; cool; OK.
Hi, welcome to Puma. If you need any help, my name's Kelly. That's calm, man[…]Thirty pounds is the limit, I think you'll pay no more, I'm sorry. Aight, fuck it! What, can I do chip and pin. Calm, I'ma put my pin in like boom!2017, “Uber Everywhere Freestyle 2”performed by Cadet (rapper):
noun
- countableuncountableThe state of being calm; peacefulness; absence of worry, anger, fear or other strong negative emotion.
Calm on the seas, and silver sleep, And waves that sway themselves in rest, And dead calm in that noble breast Which heaves but with the heaving deep.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
- countableuncountableThe state of being calm; absence of noise and disturbance.
- countableuncountableThe absence of wind; a period of time without wind.
The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 4:39:
verb
- transitiveTo make calm.
to calm a crying baby
- intransitiveTo become calm.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (8)
- nounsteadiness of mind under stress — also: composure, calmness, equanimity
- nounwind moving at less than 1 knot; 0 on the Beaufort scale — also: calm air
- verbmake calm or still — also: calm down, quiet, tranquilize, tranquillize, tranquillise
- verbmake steady — also: steady, becalm
- verbbecome quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation — also: calm down, cool off, chill out, simmer down, settle down
- verbcause to be calm or quiet as by administering a sedative to — also: sedate, tranquilize, tranquillize, tranquillise
- adjectivenot agitated; without losing self-possession — also: unagitated, serene, tranquil
- adjective(of weather) free from storm or wind
Synonyms: calm, steady, collected, composed, cool-headed, equable, equanimous, equanimitable, even-keeled, even-minded, even-tempered, imperturbable
Antonyms: angry, nervous, peevish, agitate, excite
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)calm
- Middle Englishcalm
- Middle Frenchcalme
- Old Italiancalma
From Middle English calm, calme, from Middle French calme, probably from Old Italian calma, of uncertain origin. Calma may derive from Late Latin cauma (“heat of the midday sun”), from Ancient Greek καῦμα (kaûma, “heat, especially of the sun”), from καίω (kaíō, “to burn”), or possibly from Latin caleō. Compare also Lombardic *chalm, *chalma (“frozenness”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kalmaz (“frozenness, cold”).
Displaced native Middle English smilte (“quiet, still, gentle”) from Old English smylte (“quiet, tranquil, calm, serene”).
Derivatives — words built from “calm”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “calm” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “calm” came from before it was English.
The source marks part of this history as uncertain (it uses words like “perhaps” or “possibly”). Read the full etymology above before treating any single origin as certain.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “calm”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
calm n. [OE. calme, F. calme, fr. It. or Sp. calma (cf. Pg. calma heat), prob. fr. LL. cauma heat, fr. Gr. kay^ma burning heat, fr. kai`ein to burn; either because during a great heat there is generally also a calm, or because the hot time of the day obliges us seek for shade and quiet; cf. Caustic]
- Freedom from motion, agitation, or disturbance; a cessation or absence of that which causes motion or disturbance, as of winds or waves; tranquility; stillness; quiet; serenity.
calm v. i. [Cf. F. calmer. See Calm, n.]
- To make calm; to render still or quiet, as elements; as, to calm the winds.
- To deliver from agitation or excitement; to still or soothe, as the mind or passions.
calm a.
- Not stormy; without motion, as of winds or waves; still; quiet; serene; undisturbed.
- Undisturbed by passion or emotion; not agitated or excited; tranquil; quiet in act or speech.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
adjectiveMeaning: Free of noise and disturbance.
Calm is the morn without a sound, Calm as to suit a calmer grief, And only thro’ the faded leaf The chestnut pattering to the ground: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
adjectiveMeaning: Good; alright; cool; OK.
Hi, welcome to Puma. If you need any help, my name's Kelly. That's calm, man[…]Thirty pounds is the limit, I think you'll pay no more, I'm sorry. Aight, fuck it! What, can I do chip and pin. Calm, I'ma put my pin in like boom!2017, “Uber Everywhere Freestyle 2”performed by Cadet (rapper):
Been living my life as a Kingpin. I'm calm with the heat of the kitchen.2019 May 9, “Bullet from a Gun” (track 1), in Ignorance is Bliss, performed by Skepta:
nounMeaning: The state of being calm; peacefulness; absence of worry, anger, fear or other strong negative emotion.
Calm on the seas, and silver sleep, And waves that sway themselves in rest, And dead calm in that noble breast Which heaves but with the heaving deep.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
nounMeaning: The absence of wind; a period of time without wind.
The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 4:39:
It was a calm ; so, forming a tandem of three boats, we commenced the slow business of towing the trophy to the Pequod.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 64, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 324:
verbMeaning: To make calm.
to calm a crying baby
to calm the passions
adjectiveMeaning: not agitated; without losing self-possession
spoke in a calm voice
remained calm throughout the uproar
adjectiveMeaning: (of weather) free from storm or wind
calm seas
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
calm
/kɑm/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
calm
/kɑm/ · adjective, noun, verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “calm” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “calm” and what each means:
Step 4 — Original meaning
Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 5 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — calm
Origin: A. Middle French (Middle French calme)
Journey: English calm ← Middle English calm ← Middle French calme ← Old Italian calma
Some derivatives: becalm, calmen, calmish, calmly, calmness, calmth, encalm, ice-calm
Etymology: From Middle English calm, calme, from Middle French calme, probably from Old Italian calma, of uncertain origin. Calma may derive from Late Latin cauma (“heat of the midday sun”), from Ancient Greek καῦμα (kaûma, “heat, especially of the sun”), from καίω (kaíō, “to burn”), or possibly from Latin caleō. Compare also Lombardic *chalm, *chalma (“frozenness”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kalmaz (“frozenness, cold”).
Sources: Wiktionary “calm” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calm#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/calm