calendula

noun

ca·​len·​du·​la kə-ˈlen-jə-lə 

-dyu̇-lə

: any of a small genus (Calendula) of yellow-rayed composite herbs of temperate regions

Examples of calendula in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Key Ingredients: Vitamin E, ruscus extract, Moroccan calendula extract Finish: Radiant Coverage: Light-to-medium Formulation: Serum Shades: 14 Size: 0.1 oz. —Kiana Murden, Vogue, 15 Feb. 2025

Dead sea mud musk: on sale for $16.95 Original price: $24.99 New York Biology Dead Sea Mud Mask for face and body uses Dead Sea mineral mud, aloe vera, calendula oil, Vitamin E and Jojoba oil to gently purify and clean clogged pores. —Nora Colomer, Fox News, 2 Jan. 2024

The star ingredients are the calendula petals, a beloved medicinal herb in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine, celebrated for their calming, skin-soothing properties. —Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 19 Jan. 2025

In cooler areas, calendula is grown in the shoulder seasons, however a simple frost blanket on cold nights can extend a fall planting well into the winter months. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Calendula, genus name, probably borrowed from Italian calendola "the plant Calendula officinalis," from calenda "first day of the month" (borrowed from Latin Kalendae calends) + -ola, diminutive suffix

Note: Apparently a learned or semi-learned coinage in Italian. Dictionaries attribute the etymon to New Latin, but the earliest instance of it appears to be in Pietro Andrea Mattioli's Di Pedacio Dioscoride Anazarbeo libri cinque della historia & materia medicinale (Venice, 1544), an Italian translation of Dioscorides with Mattioli's commentary. According to Andrea Cesalpino's De plantis libri XVI (Florence, 1583, p. 495), "it is called Calendula in the vernacular, because it blooms monthly" ("Calendula vulgo appellatur; quia singulis mensibus floret …").

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

calendula

noun

ca·​len·​du·​la kə-ˈlen-jə-lə 

1

capitalized : a small genus of yellow-rayed composite herbs of temperate regions

2

: any plant of the genus Calendula

3

: the dried florets of plants of the genus Calendula (especially C. officinalis) sometimes used as a mild aromatic and diaphoretic