I. ˈka]f, -aa(ə)-, -ai-, -ȧ-, -ä- noun
( plural calves ]vz ; also calfs ]fs\)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cealf; akin to Old High German kalb calf, Old Norse kālfr, Gothic kalbo, Old Norse kalfi calf of the leg, Gaulish galba fat man, Latin galla gall on a tree — more at gall (excrescence)
1. : the young of the domestic cow or of certain other larger members of the Bovidae
2. : the young of the domestic cow when past the vealer stage but not yet mature enough to be considered a beef
3. : the young of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, moose, whale, or various other large animals
4. plural calfs
a. : the fur or skin of the young of the domestic cow
b. : leather made of the skin of the calf ; especially : a fine light-colored bookbinder's leather made from the the skin of a calf
5. : an awkward or silly boy or youth
6. : a small mass of ice set free from a coast glacier or from an iceberg or floe
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- in calf
II. noun
( plural calves )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse kalfi
: the fleshy hinder part of the leg below the knee