Definition of CALF

calf

Plural: calfs, calves

Noun

  • A young bovine animal or the thick, fleshy part of the leg.
  • young of domestic cattle
  • the muscular back part of the shank
  • fine leather from the skin of a calf
  • young of various large placental mammals e.g. whale or giraffe or elephant or buffalo
  • a young cow or bull of any bovid, such as domestic cattle or buffalo.
  • Leather made of the skin of domestic calves; especially, a fine, light-coloured leather used in bookbinding.
  • The young of various animals, especially elephant, giraffe, reindeer, seal, or whale (also indiscriminately used of other animals).
  • A mass 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.

Examples

  • Playing CALF unexpectedly earned him enough points to pull ahead.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English calf, from Anglian Old English cælf, calf (West Saxon ċealf); also cognate with Scots caff, calf, cauf, cawf (“calf”), North Frisian Kualev, kualew, kuulew (“calf”), Saterland Frisian Koolich (“calf”), West Frisian keal (“calf”), German Kalb (“calf”), Luxembourgish Kallef (“calf”), Limburgish and Dutch kalf (“calf”), Vilamovian kołb, kołp (“calf”), Faroese kálvur (“calf”), Icelandic kálfur (“calf”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish kalv (“calf”), from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz, further etymology unknown.

Scrabble Score: 9

calf: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
calf: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
calf: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

calf: valid Words With Friends Word