mooncalf

[ moon-kaf, -kahf ]
See synonyms for mooncalf on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural moon·calves.
  1. a congenitally grossly deformed and mentally defective person.

  2. a foolish person.

  1. a person who spends time idly daydreaming.

Origin of mooncalf

1
First recorded in 1555–65; moon + calf1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mooncalf in a sentence

  • Evan looked up at the lunar orb again as if in irrational appeal—a moon calf bleating to his mother the moon.

    The Ball and The Cross | G.K. Chesterton
  • It should be plain to every one, even though he need not behave like a moon-calf, that "one" is alone in his thoughts.

    Etiquette | Emily Post
  • If he is as you say, dye think he'll ever marry a moon-calf like Madge?

  • It is not a moon-calf business, whatever that may be, and I will not give it up.

  • And he, like a moon calf: "Oh, you're not going to ask me to give up smoking, are you?"

    This Freedom | A. S. M. Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for mooncalf

mooncalf

/ (ˈmuːnˌkɑːf) /


nounplural -calves (-ˌkɑːvz)
  1. a born fool; dolt

  2. a person who idles time away

  1. obsolete a freak or monster

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