calf

Use calf in a sentence

A mother cow with two calves.

noun

Calf means a baby cow.
The small cow nursing from the mother cow is an example of a calf.
Calf means the baby of a large mammal like a seal or elephant.
The little whale swimming alongside its mother is an example of calf.
Calf means the back part of the lower leg.
The part of the body accentuated by high heels is an example of calf.

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"calf." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 October 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf>.

APA Style

calf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf

calf

noun

pl. calves or, esp. for 4, calfs

a young cow or bull
the young of some other large animals, as the elephant, whale, hippopotamus, seal, etc.
a large piece of ice broken off from an iceberg or coast glacier
leather from the hide of a calf; calfskin
Informal an awkward, callow, or silly youth

Origin of calf

Middle English from Old English cealf and Old Norse kalfr from Indo-European an unverified form geleb(h)- from base an unverified form gel-, to swell, form a ball (hence swelling, fetus, offspring) from source club, Classical Latin globus

calf Idioms

kill the fatted calf

to make a feast of celebration or welcome: Luke 15:23

noun

pl. calves

the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee

Origin of calf

Middle English from Old Norse kalfi; akin to kalfr, calf

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MLA Style

"calf." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 October 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf>.

APA Style

calf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf

calf

noun

pl. calves,

a. A young cow or bull.
b. One of the young of certain other mammals, such as moose, elephants, or whales.
Calfskin leather.
A large floating chunk of ice split off from a glacier, iceberg, or floe.
An awkward, callow youth.

Origin of calf

Middle English from Old English cealf

noun

pl. calves,

The fleshy muscular back part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

Origin of calf

Middle English from Old Norse kālfi possibly akin to calf ¹ ( from its shape )

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"calf." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 October 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf>.

APA Style

calf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/Calf

Noun

(plural calves or calfs)

A young cow or bull.
Leather made of the skin of the calf; especially, a fine, light-coloured leather used in bookbinding.
A young elephant, seal or whale (also used of some other animals).
A chunk of ice broken off of a larger glacier, ice shelf, or iceberg.
A small island, near a larger island.
the Calf of Man
A cabless railroad engine.
(informal, dated) An awkward or silly boy or young man; any silly person; a dolt.

Related terms

calve

Origin

From Old English cealf, from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz (compare Dutch kalf, German Kalb, Danish kalv), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷolbʰo 'womb, animal young' (compare Ancient Greek (Hesychius) δολφός (dolphós) 'womb', Avestan garəwa [script?] 'uterus', Sanskrit गर्भ (gárbha) 'womb'), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to swell”).