Calm

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /kɑm/

Definitions

1. Free from agitation, excitement, or disturbance in mind or feelings; a state of peacefulness and quietness; to soothe or reduce agitation in someone or something
2. Characterized by tranquility and absence of noise or turmoil; a condition of emotional steadiness and relaxation; to cause to become tranquil or less upset
3. Marked by serene composure and lack of disturbance; the undisturbed state of an environment, especially weather or sea; to gently ease tension or worry in a person or situation

Etymology: The most striking twist in "calm" is that its root may be about heat. The likeliest candidate is Late Latin "cauma", meaning the heat of the midday sun, which traces back to Greek "kaûma", heat especially of the sun. The idea seems to be the stillness of the blazing noon hour, when the air goes motionless and everything falls quiet. Scholars are uncertain about this link, and another possibility is Latin "caleō", "to be hot". The word reached English through Old Italian "calma" and Middle French "calme", entering Middle English as "calme" and "calm". Its path into English is clear, but its ultimate origin is not. A rival line points north instead: Lombardic forms such as "chalm" meant "frozenness", going back to a Proto-Germanic word for cold. So the same word may have started either in the scorching midday sun or in the frozen stillness of winter. English already had a word for this sense before "calm" arrived. Old English "smylte" meant quiet, tranquil and serene, and it survived into Middle English as "smilte" until "calm" displaced it.

Synonyms: peaceful, tranquil, serene, composed, untroubled

Antonyms: agitated, chaotic, anxious, excited, nervous