(κάλαμος, reed), the reed-pen used for writing in Arabic script. It is a tube of reed cut between two knots, sliced obliquely (or concave) at the thicker end and with the point slit, in similar fashion to the European quill and later the steel pen. The reed has to be very firm so that it does not wear away too quickly; the best kind comes from Wāsiṭ and grows in the marshes ( baṭāʾiḥ ) of ʿIrāḳ, but those from the swamps of Egypt (al-Muḳaddasī, BGA, iii, 203, 1. 13) or from Fāris were also recommended. Those from a rocky ground were called ṣuk̲h̲rī , those from the seashore baḥrī (Ibn ʿAbd Rabbihi, al-ʿIḳd…