calve
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English calven, from Old English *calfian, cealfian, from Proto-West Germanic *kalbōn, from Proto-Germanic *kalbōną (“to calve”), from *kalbaz (“calf”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian koolvje, Dutch kalven, German Low German kalven, German kalben, Swedish kalva, Icelandic kálfa.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kɑːv/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /kæv/
- Rhymes: -ɑːv, -æv
- Homophone: carve (some non-rhotic accents, e.g. Received Pronunciation)
Verb
editcalve (third-person singular simple present calves, present participle calving, simple past and past participle calved)
- (intransitive) to give birth to a calf
- (intransitive) to assist in a cow's giving birth to a calf
- (transitive) to give birth to (a calf)
- (intransitive, figuratively, especially of an ice shelf, a glacier, an ice sheet, or even an iceberg) to shed a large piece, e.g. an iceberg or a smaller block of ice (coming off an iceberg)
- The glacier was starting to calve even as we watched.
- (intransitive, figuratively, especially of an iceberg) to break off
- The sea was dangerous because of icebergs calving off the nearby glacier.
- When an iceberg breaks off from a large ice shelf along an existing fissure, it looks like a large, flat rectangle. Typically, only 10 percent of an iceberg is visible above the water. As it calved, the iceberg may have been smooth and flat underneath, but ocean currents would have quickly changed it.
- (transitive, figuratively, especially of an ice shelf, a glacier, an ice sheet, or even an iceberg) to shed (a large piece, e.g. an iceberg); to set loose (a mass of ice), e.g. a block of ice (coming off an iceberg)
- The glacier was starting to calve an iceberg even as we watched.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editto give birth to a calf
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to assist in a cow's giving birth to a calf
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to give birth to (a calf)
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to shed a large piece
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to break off
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Anagrams
editItalian
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editcalve
Noun
editcalve f
Anagrams
editLatin
editPronunciation
edit- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈkal.u̯e/, [ˈkäɫ̪u̯ɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkal.ve/, [ˈkälve]
Adjective
editcalve
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɑːv
- Rhymes:English/ɑːv/1 syllable
- Rhymes:English/æv
- Rhymes:English/æv/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- Italian 2-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/alve
- Rhymes:Italian/alve/2 syllables
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian adjective forms
- Italian noun forms
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin adjective forms