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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 Fleming, Twin Cities, 9 Oct. 2025
Plates of spaghetti vongole and penne puttanesca were consumed, along with heaping portions of swordfish and prawns, calamari, and clams.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 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
Frankie’s Fabulous menu also includes shareable apps, like zucchini chips and fried calamari, plus salads, including the signature house salad mixing romaine with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, artichokes, kalamata olives, and provolone cheese.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Calamari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamari. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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calamari
noun
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