I. ˈkä]m, ˈkȧ] also ]lm; sporadic & old-fash ˈkam noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English calme, from Middle French calme, from Old Italian calma, from Late Latin cauma heat, from Greek kauma burning heat, heat of the day, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic
1.
a. : a period or condition of freedom from storms, high winds, or rough activity : stillness , quietude
gradual sinks the breeze into a perfect calm — James Thomson †1748
b. : complete lack of wind
a sailing ship motionless in the calm
c. : complete absence of wind or presence of wind having a speed no greater than one mile per hour — see beaufort scale table
2. : a state or condition of repose and freedom from turmoil, disturbance, or marked activity or from agitation, tension, or vexation
the bustle subsides and relative calm is resumed — American Guide Series: North Carolina
the majesty of artistic contemplation, looking in sacred calm upon all this world … itself unmoved — Josiah Royce
II. adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English calme, from calme, n.
1. : marked by calm : still : without rough motion, storminess, or agitated activity
the sea was calm , save for a heavy but smooth ground swell — Jack London
2. : marked by quiet unruffled freedom from agitation, passion, excitement, hurry, or disturbance
we men are all in a fever of excitement, except Harker, who is calm — Bram Stoker
be rational … consider, and make a cool, calm choice — T.L.Peacock
3.
a. : cool , deliberate , assured
a calm liar
b. : self-assured , brazen : unmoved by any delicate or lofty feeling
a calm scoundrel
Synonyms:
tranquil , serene , placid , peaceful , halcyon : calm suggests simple quietude, sometimes quietude in the face of disaster
when winds that move not its calm surface sweep the azure sea — P.B.Shelley
the senate, surprised but calm and energetic as usual, hushed up the news of these many defeats — H.W.Van Loon
tranquil may suggest a somewhat deeper, more settled or composed quietude with less notion of previous agitation dispelled
on the balmy zephyrs tranquil rest the silver clouds — John Keats
with footsteps quiet and slow at a tranquil pace — Elinor Wylie
all unhappiness, all discontent, seemed banished, giving way to a tranquil content — Charles Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
a tranquil trust in God amid tortures and death too horrible to be related — J.L.Motley
serene suggests sheer and utter peace, lofty, happy, and quite unruffled
gliding o'er ocean, smooth, serene, and even — P.B.Shelley
the large fair face … was neither clouded nor ravaged, but finely serene — Henry James †1916
his [Washington's] unflagging patriotism, his calm wisdom, his serene moral courage, because in the gloomiest hours he never lost his dignity, poise, or decision — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
It is occasionally used in situations involving an enervating absence of challenge
his marriage had relapsed into the serene monotony that so often wears the aspect of happiness — Ellen Glasgow
placid may stress utter lack of agitation more strongly than the positive fact of peace and composure
the placid gleam of sunset after storm — Alfred Tennyson
a plump and placid figure … [she] received the invasion with competent tranquillity — Dorothy Sayers
In derogation it may imply stupidity
no teasing worried Una; she was as placid as a young cow — Rose Macaulay
peaceful , which has less suggestion than the others in this group, stresses the fact of undisturbed repose unlikely to change
now sleeping in those peaceful groves — William Wordsworth
I am grown peaceful as old age tonight — Robert Browning
halcyon suggests magic or golden stillness
the brightest hour of unborn spring … the halcyon morn — P.B.Shelley
change into such halcyon days the winter of the world, that the birds … may have their nests in peace — John Ruskin
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English calmen, probably from calme, adjective
intransitive verb
: to become calm : subside or abate from storm or agitation — usually used with down
the tempest calmed
the madman calmed down
transitive verb
1. : to make calm : still, abate, or reduce the force or activity of
calm the tempest — John Dryden
2. : to make peaceful : induce quietude and repose in in place of agitation, passion, or excitement — often used with down
calm feelings excited by civil war — T.M.Whitfield
calm him down; get him to be reasonable — S.H.Adams
3. obsolete : becalm
Synonyms:
compose , quiet , quieten , still , lull , soothe , settle , tranquilize are here treated only as they relate to persons and their feelings and moods. calm may indicate return to inner quietude aided by judgment, fortitude, or faith
Christian faith calmed in his soul the fear of change and death — William Wordsworth
her also I with gentle dreams have calmed — John Milton
compose , often reflexive, may heighten suggestions of conscious effort, resolution, and fortitude
my child, if ever you were brave and serviceable in your life … you will compose yourself now — Charles Dickens
a most composed invincible man, in difficulty and distress knowing no discouragement — Thomas Carlyle
quiet and quieten may connote a temporary external calmness in speech or demeanor rather than lasting inner calm
the most unreasonable of Franklin's impulses had now been quieted by this most reasonable of marriages — Carl Van Doren
These words are likely to be used in indicating the effect of actions of persons in authority on others
threats to the physical well-being of the unborn baby can quieten a noisy and uncooperative patient in labour — Lancet
still , now somewhat literary or poetic, stresses the fact of cessation of agitation
flattened, silenced, stilled — Virginia Woolf
a voice stilled by death
It may suggest more peremptory action than others in this list, connoting a return to quietude induced by power, authority, or awe
the debate was stilled by the crash of guns
it was Mary who stilled the hideous bawling of Peter — H.G.Wells
lull is the only word in this group that does not imply noticeable previous agitation or excitation. It connotes the somnolence of lullaby, to which it is related
Aiken has lulled the reader with a seductive music and has transported him into the dreamworld of Freudian fantasy — F.O.Matthiessen
It often suggests sleepy relaxation into repose, complacence, unawareness, or apathy when one should be vigilant
we must not let a year or two of prosperity lull us into a false feeling of security — H.S.Truman
soothe suggests bland, gentle mitigation, assuagement, or solace
it [the weather] cool'd their fever'd sleep, and soothed them into slumbers full and deep — John Keats
when they [babies] wake screaming and find none to soothe them — Charles Lamb
settle stresses the subsiding of swirling agitation
I'll read a bit before supper to settle my mind — Agnes S. Turnbull
if I can't settle my brains, your next news of me will be that I am locked up — Mary W. Montagu
tranquilize , more than the others in this group, stresses the depth of peace achieved
when contemplation … sends deep into the soul its tranquilizing power — William Wordsworth
IV. ˈkäm noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
now chiefly Scotland : a mold or frame especially as used for casting metal
V. ˈkäm\
variant of came