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calf

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Etymology and origin of the English word calf

Pronunciation

  • /kɑːf/, /kæf/[1]

calf1 young of cattle

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
before 800
Inherited from
Old English cealf via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *kalbaz

Etymology

The young animal is inherited from Middle English calf,[2][3] inherited from Old English cealf, in Anglian cælf,[4][5][6][7] from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz.[4][5][8] It is cognate with Old Saxon kalf, Middle Dutch calf (modern Dutch kalf), Old High German kalb (modern German Kalb) and Old Norse kálfr,[5][4][7][9] and with the feminine Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍉 (kalbō, “heifer”) and kalba.[8][7][10] Etymonline suggests a source in Proto-Indo-European *gelbh-, from a root meaning to swell, hence womb or fetus,[4] and Klein derives it from a base *gwelbh- (“womb”);[9] Orel compares a Sanskrit word for womb and Ancient Greek δελφύς (delphús, “womb”),[8] and Merriam-Webster relates it to Gaulish galba (“fat man”) and Latin galla (“gall on a tree”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The young of cattle: the word is found in Old English glossaries, in the Anglian form cælf before 800 and cealf before 830, and in West Saxon cealf about 1000.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word also meant veal, and was used for the young of other animals.[2] The OED's first quotation for the young of deer, elephants and whales is from Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus, before 1398.[6] From the 16th century it was applied to people, for a stupid fellow or a meek, harmless person, and also as a term of endearment;[6][11] Nicholas Udall's comedy Ralph Roister Doister (before 1556) has "such a calf, such an ass, such a block".[11] Seals were called calves from 1616,[6] and the young of whales and other marine mammals, whose adults are bulls and cows, by 1725.[4] The leather sense, short for calfskin, appears in 1716 in Pope.[6][4] Two senses came from Old Norse use: a small island lying close to a larger one, known in English only in the name Calf of Man, and since 1818 a mass of ice broken off a glacier or iceberg.[6][12][4] The golden calf, an idol, is from the Book of Exodus.[4]

Timeline

  • before 800 – Anglian cælf; before 830 cealf.[5]
  • before 1398 – the young of other animals, such as deer, elephants and whales.[6]
  • before 1556 – a stupid or meek person.[6][11]
  • 1616 – a seal.[6]
  • 1664 – to slip the calf, to give birth to a calf too early.[6]
  • 1716 – calf leather.[6]
  • 1818 – a piece of ice broken off a glacier or iceberg.[6][4]
  • 1833 – a small island near a larger one, in the Calf of Man.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The young of cattle, especially of the domestic cow.
  2. The young of some other large mammals, such as the elephant, giraffe or whale.
  3. Leather made from the skin of a calf; calfskin.
  4. A piece of ice broken off an iceberg or glacier.
  5. kill the fatted calf: to celebrate lavishly, especially to welcome someone home.

Word family

  • calfskin
  • calflike
  • mooncalf
  • box calf
  • golden calf
  • sea calf

calf2 back of the leg

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1325
Borrowed from
Old Norse kálfi via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Old Norse kálfi

Etymology

The part of the leg is inherited from Middle English calf,[2][3] apparently borrowed from Old Norse kálfi,[6][13][14][7][15] a word of unknown origin.[6][13][7][16] Barnhart relates it to kálfr, the source of the word for the animal,[5] and the American Heritage Dictionary and Etymonline think it may be related, perhaps because of its shape;[15][4] Klein thinks it is probably unrelated and compares an Old Indian word for the ankle bone.[9] Kroonen sets up a separate Proto-Germanic *kalba(n)- (“calf of the leg”), with descendants in Old Norse, Swedish kalv and German dialect Kalb.[17] A borrowing from Irish calpa (“leg, calf of the leg”) has also been suggested.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fleshy back part of the lower leg: about 1325, as a gloss in Walter de Bibbesworth's French treatise.[6][2] Barnhart dates it before 1325.[5]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer used it in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales of a person's legs.[2][18] The sense was later extended to the part of a stocking that covers the calf (before 1658), and to the corresponding part of the arm (1860).[6] Weekley compared the history of muscle.[12] Since 1965 calf has also described garments or boots reaching to the calf, as in calf-length.[6][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – the calf of the leg.[6][2]
  • c. 1387–95 – in Chaucer's General Prologue.[2]
  • before 1658 – the part of a stocking that covers the calf.[6]
  • 1860 – the corresponding part of the arm.[6]
  • 1956 – calf-length, of garments.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The thick, fleshy back part of the leg below the knee.
  2. The part of a stocking or trouser leg that covers it.
  • calve

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  12. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  13. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  14. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  15. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  16. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  17. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  18. ^ Stratmann, Francis Henry (1891), A Middle-English Dictionary, revised by Henry Bradley, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • rotten · also from Old Norse
  • kindle · also from Old Norse
  • awe · also from Old Norse
  • scar · also from Old Norse
  • crawl · also from Old Norse
  • skate · also from Old Norse
  • troll · also from Old Norse
  • thrive · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Calf.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/calf. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·