Etymology

calf

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Today it means: A young cow or bull of any bovid, such as domestic cattle or buffalo. Full definition →

Middle English calf ← Anglian Old English cælf ← Proto-West Germanic *kalb
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calf · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kalbaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kalb
  3. Anglian Old English · inherited fromcælf
  4. Middle English · inherited fromcalf
  5. English todaycalf

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

calf · noun2

  1. Old Norse · derived fromkalfi
  2. Middle English · inherited fromcalf
  3. English todaycalf

From Middle English calf, kalf, from Old Norse kalfi, possibly derived from the same Germanic root as English calf (“young cow”) (above). Cognate with Icelandic kálfi (“calf of the leg”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.