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The word calamari was borrowed into English from 17th-century Italian, where it functioned as the plural of "calamaro" or "calamaio." The Italian word, in turn, comes from the Medieval Latin noun calamarium, meaning "ink pot or "pen case," and can be ultimately traced back to Latin calamus, meaning "reed pen." The transition from pens and ink to squid is not surprising, given the inky substance that a squid ejects and the long tapered shape of the squid's body. English speakers have also adopted "calamus" itself as a word referring to both a reed pen and to a number of plants.
Examples of calamari in a Sentence
John Mariani, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Appetizers include tempura lobster tails, chicken wings and fried calamari, and mains include short-ribs, pastas and a NY strip.
—Mckenzie Rankin, Axios, 24 Oct. 2024
The fried calamari were a crunch fest and the saganaki was delicious ounce sautéed in larger than usual flames.
—Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
In Point Judith, Rhode Island, the Town Dock is a major domestic supplier of calamari.
—Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Calamari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamari. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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calamari
noun
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