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Synonyms

mooncalf

American  
[moon-kaf, -kahf] / ˈmunˌkæf, -ˌkɑf /

noun

mooncalves plural
  1. a congenitally grossly deformed and mentally defective person.

  2. a foolish person.

  3. a person who spends time idly daydreaming.


mooncalf British  
/ ˈmuːnˌkɑːf /

noun

  1. a born fool; dolt

  2. a person who idles time away

  3. 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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of mooncalf

First recorded in 1555–65; moon + calf 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The long-term effects of that mooncalf renaissance are impossible to gauge from here.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2021

Prince Bumpo, the heir to the throne, is a mooncalf who mistakes fairy tales for real life, speaks in Elizabethan periphrasis and murmurs to himself: “If only I were a white prince!”

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2020

By 1752, Dr. Johnson had begun to mock such reaching and its mooncalf hyperbole.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 3, 2016

So, at least, it all seemed to Kent Savaron, Hechtic mooncalf from Wisconsin.

From Time Magazine Archive

He stared off into space with a dumb mooncalf look on his face that made you want to slap him.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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