# calve

> English word · Verb · IPA /kɑːv/ · frequency rank #99,070

## Definitions
1. To give birth to a calf.
2. To assist in a cow’s giving birth to a calf.
3. To give birth to (a calf).
4. To shed a large piece, e.g. an iceberg or a smaller block of ice (coming off an iceberg).
5. To break off.
6. 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).

## Etymology
From 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/calve