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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
Jess Feldman, Travel + Leisure, 16 Nov. 2025
The cuisine leans toward coastal Mexican fare, like ceviche with corvina and habanero; bluefin tuna tostadas and smoked salmon tostadas; and a seafood and basmati rice casserole with shrimp, octopus, calamari and sea bass.
—Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2025
The shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels were all fresh and cooked perfectly, and the spicy tomato sauce took things up a level.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 9 Oct. 2025
The expansive menu comprises appetizers (mussel, calamari, soft shell crab), carpaccio (halibut, tuna, octopus, salmon); salads (seaweed, octopus, spicy tuna, scallops, shrimp), sushi a la carte, sashimi and beyond.
—George A. Paul, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Calamari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamari. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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calamari
noun
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