calve

[ kav, kahv ]
See synonyms for: calvecalves on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),calved, calv·ing.
  1. to give birth to a calf: The cow is expected to calve tomorrow.

  2. (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break up or splinter so as to produce a detached piece.

verb (used with object),calved, calv·ing.
  1. to give birth to (a calf).

  2. (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break off or detach (a piece): The glacier calved an iceberg.

Origin of calve

1
before 1000; Middle English calven,Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calfcalf1; cognate with Old English (West Saxon ) cealfian

Words Nearby calve

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How to use calve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for calve

calve

/ (kɑːv) /


verb
  1. to give birth to (a calf)

  2. (of a glacier or iceberg) to release (masses of ice) in breaking up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012