calf Hear it!

calf¹ Definition

calf (kaf, käf)

noun pl. calves, calfs

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

Etymology: ME < OE cealf & ON kalfr < IE *geleb(h)- < base *gel-, to swell, form a ball (hence swelling, fetus, offspring) > club, L globus

calf¹ Idioms

kill the fatted calf

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

calf² Definition

calf (kaf, käf)

noun pl. calves

the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee

Etymology: ME < ON kalfi; akin to kalfr, calf

calf Synonyms

calf

n.

young cow, young bull, yearling, freemartin, maverick, dogie*. see also animal 1, 2, cow.

Related terms for other young animals include: colt, cub, kitten, filly, lionet, pup, puppy, bunny, fawn, foal, piglet, lamb, lambkin, whelp, kid, joey;

kill the fatted calf

celebrate, have a feast, have a celebration, welcome; see celebrate 1, 3.

calf Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • suckle: The key points are Viruses are the major trigger for the pneumonia of suckled calves.
  • wean: Several farmers have recorded a 10-15 % increase in the number of calves weaned from the same number of cows.
  • fatten: The female calves were kept to maintain the milking herd and the bull calves fattened and sold for meat.
  • sire: Although the difference between the EBVs was small they suggest that calves sired by bull C would be born slightly earlier.

Adjective modifier

  • new-born: Sheep with very young lambs, cattle with new-born calves.
  • newborn: During the beef export ban, up to 500,000 newborn male dairy calves were shot in the head every year in the UK.
  • golden: I just think the golden calf gets in the way sometimes.
  • Friesian: Two female Friesian calves born to Emma and Jenny.

Modifies a noun

  • rearing: Topics covered include fire and emergency precautions, calf rearing, breeding animals, cattle identification, cattle movements, and dairy cows.
  • serum: No infectivity was shown in these tests of fetal calf serum.
  • muscle: The best stretch for the calf muscles is the " wall stretch " .
  • heifer: The twenty three in calf heifers averaged £ 490 with a top price of £ 720 paid for another Formation daughter.
  • strain: The center limped out of the defeat to Quins with a slight calf strain.
  • diarrhea: Only a general overview of the infectious agents for calf diarrhea is included here.

Noun used with modifier

  • heifer: She was sold with her January 2004 born heifer calf at foot, Chatsworth Vine.
  • bull: However, the effect on the proportion of bull calves coming from the dairy herd would not be particularly great.
  • suckler: Unless the quality of suckler calf production is maintained, the quality of finished cattle cannot be achieved.
  • dairy: During the beef export ban, up to 500,000 newborn male dairy calves were shot in the head every year in the UK.
  • beef: Beef calves Farm Staff All three farms are managed by Ivor Lowry.
  • buffalo: The most widely broadcast report of prophesy and its fulfillment in recent history was the birth of a female white buffalo calf in 1994.
calf Quotes

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forththebest robe, and put itonhim; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

—Bible (NewTestament)

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw likethe ox. And thesucking child shall playonthehole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice'den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L, as the waters cover the sea.

—Bible (Old Testament)

The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep.

—Allen,Woody pseudonym of  Allen Stewart Konigsberg

And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said,These be thy gods,O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

—Bible (Old Testament)

When he killed a calf he would do it in a high style, and make a speech.

—Aubrey,John

Browse dictionary entries near calf

  1. calescent
  2. calenture
  3. calendula
  4. calends
  5. calender
  6. calendar year
  7. calendar call
  8. calendar
  9. calefactory
  10. calefaction
  1. calf love
  2. calf's-foot jelly
  3. calfskin
  4. Calgary
  5. Calhoun
  6. Cali
  7. Caliban
  8. caliber
  9. calibrate
  10. calices