Did you know?
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
Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
In Point Judith, Rhode Island, the Town Dock is a major domestic supplier of calamari.
—Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2024
In the $44 lineup, the fourth starter option is lightly breaded and fried calamari.
—Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 19 Sep. 2024
Major calamari fishery closed The fishery that supplies half the calamari eaten in Europe has been canceled for the first time after a population crash, perhaps due to overfishing and changing currents.
—Byscience News Staff, science.org, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for calamari 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'calamari.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near calamari
Cite this Entry
“Calamari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamari. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
calamari
noun
Share