kamala

Borrowed from Sanskrit कमल (kamala, “lotus”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʌm(ə)lə/

kamala (countable and uncountable, plural kamalas)

2. A small or medium-sized tree (Mallotus philippensis) in the spurge family, found in Asia and Australia.

   Synonyms: kamala tree, dyer's rottlera, kamala dye tree, monkey face tree, orange kamala, red kamala, scarlet croton

   2. (usually uncountable) An orange or red powder obtained from the fruit capsules of this plant, used as dyestuff for colouring silk or wool, and employed as an anthelmintic.
      • 1875 December 4, “Medical Societies: Medical Society of London”, in James G. Wakley, editor, The Lancet, number 2727, London: John James Croft, page 803:

        After stating the varieties met with in this country, […] he stated that the chief points to be observed in the treatment [of common tapeworm] were: a preliminary starvation of twenty-four hours, and the administration of a combination of kamala and male fern—namely, two drachms of kamala to be rubbed up with a little gum-and-water till an emulsion is formed, and then two drachms of oil of male fern to be added, and the whole triturated in a mortar, […]

      • 1876, Ferd[inand] von Mueller, Select Plants Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture or Naturalisation in Victoria, Melbourne: M‘Carron, Bird & Co., page 124:

        Mallotus Philippinensis, J. M. […] Though not of great importance this bush should not be passed on this occasion, inasmuch as the powdery substance investing the seed capsules constitutes the Kamala, which can be employed not only as an orange dye, but also as an anthelmintic remedy. The Hindoo silk-dyers use it for an orange colour, obtained by boiling the Kamala with carbonate of soda.

      • 1907, C[onrad] Lewis Diehl, “Report on the Progress of Pharmacy. From July 1, 1906, to June 30, 1907”, in Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association at the Fifty-Fifth Annual Meeting Held at New York, N. Y., September, 1907 […], Baltimore: American Pharmaceutical Association, page 815:

        In a recent examination of commercial kamalas, the mean percentage of ash found was 35.17 per cent., using a platinum crucible and as high a temperature as a common Bunsen burner would supply.

• “kamala”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• kamala on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Mallotus philippensis on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:Mallotus philippensis on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

• Kalama, alamak

From Proto-Finnic *kamala (compare Ingrian kamala, Karelian kamala, Votic kamalõ), possibly borrowed from Proto-Germanic *hamalaz.^[1] Alternatively, possibly related to Erzya кама- (kama-) in камажа (kamaža, “bad”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmɑlɑ/, [ˈkɑ̝mɑ̝lɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑmɑlɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ka‧ma‧la
• Hyphenation^(key): ka‧ma‧la

kamala (comparative kamalampi, superlative kamalin)

1. horrible, terrible, awful

   se oli kamalaa ― it was horrible

2. (colloquial) terrible (intensifier)

   se oli kamalan hyvää ― it was terribly good

• hirveä
• kauhea
• kaamea

• “kamala”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

kamala m (plural kamalas)

1. kamala (plant)

• “kamala”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• IPA^(key): /kà.máː.làː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [kə̀.máː.làː]

kàmālā̀ f (possessed form kàmālàr̃)

1. decency, dignity

• kamela

From Proto-Finnic *kamala. Cognates include Finnish kamala.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmɑlɑ/, [ˈkɑmɑɫ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmɑːlɑ/, [ˈkɑmˑɑːɫɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑmɑl, -ɑmɑːlɑ
• Hyphenation: ka‧ma‧la

kamala (comparative kamalamp)

1. dirty
2. bad, terrible

   kamala ilma ― bad weather

   kamala sana ― dirty word

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 129

From Sanskrit कमल (kamala).

kamala n^[1]

1. lotus

Borrowed from French kamala.

kamala f (uncountable)

1. kamala