Meanings
plural calamanders
- uncountableusuallyA wood from India and Sri Lanka, of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes, very hard in texture. It is a kind of ebony obtained from species of Diospyros, especially Diospyros quaesita, used to make furniture.
Synonyms: coromandel wood, coromandel
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA wood from India and Sri Lanka, of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes, very hard in texture. It is a kind of ebony obtained from species of Diospyros, especially Diospyros quaesita, used to make furniture.
Origin
- Dutchkalamanderhout
- Sinhaleseකළු“black”
- Sinhalese[script needed]
- Englishcalamander
From Sinhalese [script needed] (kaḷu-madīriya), perhaps from Coromandel ebony (see coromandel), changed by association with Sinhalese කළු (kaḷu, “black”); or perhaps a metathetic variant of coromandel via Dutch kalamanderhout.
More words from Sinhalese, Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
calamander. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calamander
“calamander.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calamander. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “calamander,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calamander.
Source: calamander on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.