calendula

noun

ca·​len·​du·​la kə-ˈlen-jə-lə 

-dyu̇-lə

: any of a small genus (Calendula) of yellow-rayed composite herbs of temperate regions

Examples of calendula in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some examples of alteratives include nettle, dandelion leaf and root, burdock root, violet, calendula, and red clover. —Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024

Bestsellers include Santa Maria Novella almond soap ($16), hand cream ($50), aloe vera gel ($35), calendula cream ($52) and women’s body milk ($72). —Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024

Start annual herbs and flower seeds including borage, basil, calendula, sunflowers, marigolds, zinnias and cosmos. —Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024

Moisture loss in the skin is often accompanied by inflammation, which is why the Everything Rescue Balm from True Botanicals contains soothing calendula oil (which gives the balm its orange hue) and aloe. —Eimear Lynch Monica Khemsurov Kurt Soller Gisela Williams Caitie Kelly Elissa Suh, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024

Formulated with all-natural herbs and oils, including calendula and beeswax, this cream is great for premature babies and little ones in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). —Brienne Walsh, Parents, 21 Feb. 2024

This balm, which also helps to nourish the skin, has beneficial ingredients including coconut oil, jojoba oil, and calendula oil. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2023

Customers also say the quality is excellent and their durable for long wear. Find it on Amazon The Best Selling Face Mask That Offers Your Skin Rejuvenation The natural ingredients in this mask include dead sea mineral mud, aloe vera, calendula oil, vitamin E and jojoba oil. —Kat Romero, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2023

Try marigold, calendula, chrysanthemum, and yarrow for their calming and anti-inflammatory properties. —Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Calendula, genus name, probably borrowed from Italian calendola "the plant Calendula officinalis," from calenda "first day of the month" (borrowed from Latin Kalendae calends) + -ola, diminutive suffix

Note: Apparently a learned or semi-learned coinage in Italian. Dictionaries attribute the etymon to New Latin, but the earliest instance of it appears to be in Pietro Andrea Mattioli's Di Pedacio Dioscoride Anazarbeo libri cinque della historia & materia medicinale (Venice, 1544), an Italian translation of Dioscorides with Mattioli's commentary. According to Andrea Cesalpino's De plantis libri XVI (Florence, 1583, p. 495), "it is called Calendula in the vernacular, because it blooms monthly" ("Calendula vulgo appellatur; quia singulis mensibus floret …").

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

calendula

noun

ca·​len·​du·​la kə-ˈlen-jə-lə 

1

capitalized : a small genus of yellow-rayed composite herbs of temperate regions

2

: any plant of the genus Calendula

3

: the dried florets of plants of the genus Calendula (especially C. officinalis) sometimes used as a mild aromatic and diaphoretic