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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
Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
To make the meal, each calamari is 3D printed in rings about 1.8 inches wide.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2025
Dishes on the brunch menu are served sharing-style, beginning with a variety of mezze (appetizers), such as refreshing tzatziki, warm spinach pie and crispy calamari.
—Natasha Amar, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
The calamari proved excellent: crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, served with a lemon aioli.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 25 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Calamari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamari. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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calamari
noun
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