Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “calm” come from?

Calm comes from Old French calme, from Middle English calm, with ultimate origins uncertain.

calm (English): Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and...

Definitions

  1. Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and...

Ancestry of “calm”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcalm—
2Middle Frenchcalmecalm; still; windless
3Italiancalmacalm, stillness, peacefulness; tranquility, peace...
4Latincaumaheat; heat of the day
5Ancient Greekκαῦμαburning, glow, heat; fever; holes cut by cautery
6Ancient GreekκαίωI light, kindle, set on fire; I burn, burn up; I...
7Proto-Hellenic*káyyō—

Words derived from “calm”

  • calmly
  • calmness
  • calming
  • calmer
  • calmest
  • becalm
  • calmy
  • calmingly
  • uncalm
  • calmish
  • calmeth
  • uncalmable
  • calmful
  • calmingness
  • uncalmly
  • calme
  • uncalming
  • kalma
  • kalmeskar
  • kalmigar
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *káyyō →