Etymologically
Log in

calamity

Etymology and origin of the English word calamity

History Permalink
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Middle French calamité via Middle English
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin calamitas
English calamity

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈlæmɪti/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English calamite,[2][3] borrowed from Middle French calamité,[3][4] from Latin calamitās (“damage, disaster, adversity”),[2][3][5] a word of obscure origin.[5] Early etymologists linked it with Latin calamus “straw”, through damage to crops, but Etymonline treats this as folk etymology.[5] Merriam-Webster compares Latin clādēs “destruction”, and Random House incolumitās “safety”.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Damage; a state of adversity or deep distress (early 15th century).[5][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant a state of adversity and misery;[7][5] from the 1550s it was also used for a single disastrous event causing loss and distress,[5][7] and this is now the commoner sense.[2][6] The adjective calamitous followed in 1545.[3] Calamity Jane was the nickname of the American frontierswoman Martha Jane Cannary, attested by 1876.[5][7]

Timeline

  • about 1425 – calamyte, adversity.[3]
  • 1490 – a state of grievous affliction or distress.[7]
  • 1545 – the adjective calamitous.[3]
  • 1552 – a grievous disaster.[7][5]
  • 1892 – compounds such as calamity-howler (US).[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A disastrous event causing great loss and lasting distress.
  2. Deep distress or misery resulting from such loss.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Calamity.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/calamity. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·