An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Halm
Halm, m. and n., ‘stalk, stem, straw,’ from MidHG. halm, m., and halme, m., OHG. and OSax. halm, m.; comp. AS. healm, E. halm; the meaning in West Teut. is ‘grass or corn-stalk’; Scand. halmr, ‘straw.’ In sense and sound corresponding to Lat. calamus, Gr. κάλαμος, ‘reed, reed-pen, halm’ (Ind. kalamas, ‘reed-pen’), OSlov. slama, f., ‘halm.’ Perhaps the Lat. word is derived from Gr.; it is also conceivable that Halm, like Hanf, was obtained from a South Russ. tribe by the Aryans who had migrated westwards. Yet it is more probable that Halm and Gr. κάλαμος, like Lat. culmus, ‘stalk,’ are connected with Lat. culmen, ‘peak, summit,’ and farther with excello.