'calmando' originates from Italian, specifically the gerund of the verb 'calmare', where 'calmare' meant 'to calm'.

'calmando' developed from Italian 'calmare' (from Late Latin/Medieval Latin forms related to 'calmare' or 'calma') and was adopted into musical notation as an expressive direction in scores.

Initially, it meant 'calming' or 'making calm' (the verbal/gerund sense), but over time it evolved into its specialized use as a musical direction meaning 'becoming calm'.