calumet

noun

cal·​u·​met ˈkal-yə-ˌmet How to pronounce calumet (audio)
-mət
: a highly ornamented ceremonial pipe of the American Indians

Illustration of calumet

Illustration of calumet

Word History

Etymology

American French, from French dialect, pipe stem, from Late Latin calamellus, diminutive of Latin calamus reed — more at calamus

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of calumet was in 1698

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries Near calumet

caltrop

calumet

Calumet

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Calumet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calumet. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Geographical Definition

Calumet

geographical name

Cal·​u·​met ˈkal-yə-ˌmet How to pronounce Calumet (audio)
-mət
industrial region of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois southeast of and adjacent to Chicago including the cities of East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond, Indiana, and Calumet City and Lansing, Illinois

More from Merriam-Webster on calumet

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about calumet

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond