calve
calve Lexical Profile
calve Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To give birth to a calf (used of cows, whales, elephants, and certain other large mammals).
"The dairy farmer monitored the herd closely as several cows were expected to calve before dawn."
To split and shed a mass of ice, or to break off from a larger ice sheet or glacier to form an iceberg.
"Rising ocean temperatures have caused the coastal glacier to calve much more rapidly than in previous decades."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse the verb 'calve' with 'calves', which functions as both the plural noun form of 'calf' (the young animal or the lower leg muscle) and the third-person singular present tense of the verb.
• Rhymes for calve
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'cealfian' (to bring forth a calf), a derivative of 'cealf' (calf). The sense relating to glaciers shedding icebergs emerged in the 19th century by analogy with a cow giving birth.