An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Halm
Halm, masculine and neuter, ‘stalk, stem, straw,’ from Middle High German halm, masculine, and halme, masculine, Old High German and Old Saxon halm, masculine; compare Anglo-Saxon healm, English halm; the meaning in West Teutonic is ‘grass or corn-stalk’; Scandinavian halmr, ‘straw.’ In sense and sound corresponding to Latin calamus, Greek κάλαμος, ‘reed, reed-pen, halm’ (Indian kalamas, ‘reed-pen’), Old Slovenian slama, feminine, ‘halm.’ Perhaps the Latin word is derived from Greek; it is also conceivable that Halm, like Hanf, was obtained from a South Russian tribe by the Aryans who had migrated westwards. Yet it is more probable that Halm and Greek κάλαμος, like Latin culmus, ‘stalk,’ are connected with Latin culmen, ‘peak, summit,’ and farther with excello.