calve
Use Calve in a sentence
verb (used without object)
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)
3.
to give birth to (a calf).
4.
(of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break off or detach (a piece): The glacier calved an iceberg.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English calven, Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calf calf1; cognate with Old English (West Saxon) cealfian
before 1000; Middle English calven, Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calf calf1; cognate with Old English (West Saxon) cealfian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To calve
00:10
Calve
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
calve (kɑːv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 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 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
One last major calve, digitally preserved after its four century journey to the sea.
They had been expecting the glacier to calve, but this piece is much larger than anyone had anticipated.
The cows were inseminated this spring and should calve this coming winter.
Sometimes pieces of glacier calve under water, making the ice shoot up to the surface.
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