Nearby Words
noun
plural of calf.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun, plural calves 
[kavz, kahvz] .
Idioms [kavz, kahvz] . 1.
the young of the domestic cow or other bovine animal.
2.
the young of certain other mammals, as the elephant, seal, and whale.
3.
calfskin leather.
4.
Informal. an awkward, silly boy or man.
5.
a mass of ice detached from a glacier, iceberg, or floe.
6.
in calf, (of a cow or other animal having calves) pregnant.
7.
kill the fatted calf, to prepare an elaborate feast in welcome or celebration.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English cealf, calf; cognate with Old Saxon kalf, Old Norse kalfr, Old High German kalb
before 900; Middle English; Old English cealf, calf; cognate with Old Saxon kalf, Old Norse kalfr, Old High German kalb
Related forms
calf·less, adjective
calf·like, adjective
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. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To calves
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
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
calf
O.E. cealf (Anglian cælf) "young cow," from W.Gmc. *kalbam (cf. M.Du. calf, O.N. kalfr, Ger. Kalb, Goth. kalbo), perhaps from PIE *gelb(h)-, from base *gel- "to swell," hence, "womb, fetus, young of an animal." Elliptical sense of "leather made from the skin of a calf" is from 1727. Used of icebergs
EXPANDthat break off from glaciers from 1818. Calf of the leg (early 14c.) is from O.N. kalfi, source unknown; possibly from the same Germanic root.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
calf (kāf)
n. pl. calves (kāvz)
The fleshy, muscular back part of the human leg between the knee and ankle, formed chiefly by the bellies of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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