Etymograph

English

calm

Calm comes from Middle French calme, probably from Old Italian calma, of uncertain origin.

  1. Old Italianmoderncalma1‘calm’uncertain
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600calme1‘calm’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500calm1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1611calm1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English calm
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”.

Lineage

  1. Old ItalianmoderncalmaWiktionary, English calm‘calm’uncertain
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600calmeWiktionary, English calm‘calm’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500calmWiktionary, English calm
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1611calmWiktionary, English calm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

The story

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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

adj Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and anxiety.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “calm”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old Italian calma / calm