Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - calamity jane

 biographical name — see Martha Jane Burk CALAMITY  noun  (plural -ties)  Etymology: Middle English calamytey, from Latin calamitat-, calamitas; perhaps akin to Latin clades destruction  Date: 15th century  1. a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss  2. a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering calamities of nature an economic ~