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calf1

Syllabification: (calf)
Pronunciation: /kaf/

Translate calf | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of calf

noun (plural calves /kavz/)

  • 1a young bovine animal, especially a domestic cow or bull in its first year.
  • the young of some other large mammals, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, large deer and antelopes, and whales.
  • short for calfskin.
  • 2a floating piece of ice detached from an iceberg.

Phrases

in (or with) calf

(of a cow) pregnant.

kill the fatted calf

see fat.

Derivatives

calflike

Pronunciation: /-ˌlīk/

adjective

Origin:

Old English cælf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kalf and German Kalb

calf in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of calf in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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