calamus

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin calamus (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos). Doublet of shawm.

noun

1. The sweet flag, Acorus calamus.
2. (ornithology) 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. 1956, Advisory Board on Quartermaster Research and Development, The Utilization of Chicken Feathers as Filling Materials, page 9
   In follicles late in feather growth, after rupture of the feather sheath, this canal contained the upper part of the calamus. 1969, RIC Spearman, “The epidermis and feather follicles of the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica) (aves)”, in Zeitschrift für Morphologie der Tiere
   Chapin asserted that the calamus is firmly fixed in the wing 1969, CH Fry, “Structural and functional adaptation to display in the Standard‐winged nightjar Macrodipteryx longipennis”, in Journal of Zoology
3. A fish of genus Calamus in family Sparidae; certain porgies.
4. A palm in genus Calamus, of rattan palms.
5. (Christianity, historical) Synonym of fistula (“tube for sucking Eucharist wine”)