Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Calm in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels calm as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Calm

[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]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordcalm
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[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]
Selected historical definitionFreedom 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.
Signed record IDwebster1913-calm-noun-d521f60fa48a
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 849; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "calm" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[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]" The selected historical definition says: "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."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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