calf

Calf of the leg

Meaning

Noun

  • A young cow or bull.
  • Leather made of the skin of the calf; especially, a fine, light-coloured leather used in bookbinding.
  • A young deer, elephant, seal, whale or giraffe .
  • A chunk of ice broken from a larger glacier, ice shelf, or iceberg.
  • A small island, near a larger island.
  • A cabless railroad engine.
  • An awkward or silly boy or young man; any silly person; a dolt.
  • The back of the leg below the knee.
  • The muscle in the back of the leg below the knee.

Related

Similar words

Origin

  • Image:Cow and calf.jpg|thumb|right|A cow and calf
  • From Middle English calf, kælf, kelf, from Old English cælf, ċealf;
  • also cognate with German Kalb, Dutch kalf and Danish kalv, from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz, further etymology unknown.
  • From Middle English calf, kalf, from Old Norse kalfi, possibly derived from the same Germanic root as English calf (above). Cognate with Icelandic kálfi.

Modern English dictionary

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