calves1
[kavz, kahvz]
- plural of calf1.
calves2
[kavz, kahvz]
- plural of calf2.
calf1
[kaf, kahf]
- the young of the domestic cow or other bovine animal.
- the young of certain other mammals, as the elephant, seal, and whale.
- calfskin leather.
- Informal. an awkward, silly boy or man.
- a mass of ice detached from a glacier, iceberg, or floe.
- in calf, (of a cow or other animal having calves) pregnant.
- kill the fatted calf, to prepare an elaborate feast in welcome or celebration.
Origin of calf1
before 900; Middle English; Old English cealf, calf; cognate with Old Saxon kalf, Old Norse kalfr, Old High German kalb
calve
[kav, kahv]
- to give birth to a calf: The cow is expected to calve tomorrow.
- (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break up or splinter so as to produce a detached piece.
- to give birth to (a calf).
- (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break off or detach (a piece): The glacier calved an iceberg.
Origin of calve
before 1000; Middle English calven, Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calf calf1; cognate with Old English (West Saxon) cealfian
calf2
[kaf, kahf]
- the fleshy part of the back of the human leg below the knee.
Origin of calf2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for calves
Contemporary Examples
He wears a black Under Armour T-shirt, red basketball shorts, sneakers, and white socks hiked up to his calves.
In Mexico, crowds gather to watch dwarf bullfighters taunt their calves with red capes for pay of $50 to $100.
My team and I learned that family units are split up and calves are taken from mothers and moved to other parks.
Their calves have evolved to stand upright within five minutes of birth, and to run alongside their mothers within 20.
Before the drought, the Smiths owned about 150 cows and their calves and as many as 100 yearlings.
Historical Examples
Also the calves bleating and the lambs callin' on their dams.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 1.Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
And none but calves the most immature can possibly sympathize with him.
They had six horses, three cows, two calves, and some twenty sheep.
Master and ManLeo Tolstoy
They not only milk these cows, but they tenderly raise their calves.
I met him in the front yard where we keep the calves and let the sheep run.
Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The SearchlightMathew Joseph Holt
calves
calve
- to give birth to (a calf)
- (of a glacier or iceberg) to release (masses of ice) in breaking up
calf1
- the young of cattle, esp domestic cattleRelated adjective: vituline
- the young of certain other mammals, such as the buffalo, elephant, giraffe, and whale
- a large piece of floating ice detached from an iceberg, etc
- kill the fatted calf to celebrate lavishly, esp as a welcome
- another name for calfskin
Word Origin
Old English cealf; related to Old Norse kālfr, Gothic kalbō, Old High German kalba
calf2
- the thick fleshy part of the back of the leg between the ankle and the kneeRelated adjective: sural
Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse kalfi
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
Word Origin and History for calves
calf
n.2
fleshy part of the lower leg, early 14c., from Old Norse kalfi, source unknown; possibly from the same Germanic root as calf (n.1).
calf
n.1
"young cow," Old English cealf (Anglian cælf) "young cow," from West Germanic *kalbam (cf. Middle Dutch calf, Old Norse kalfr, German Kalb, Gothic kalbo), perhaps from PIE *gelb(h)-, from root *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 that break off from glaciers from 1818.
calve
v.
Old English cealfian, from cealf "calf" (see calf (n.1)). Of icebergs, 1837. Related: Calved; calving.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
calf
(kăf)
- 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.
Idioms and Phrases with calves
calf
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.