calve

Verb form related to calf This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kɑːv/

Rhymes: -ɑːv

Homophone: carve (Received Pronunciation)

• (US) IPA^(key): /kæv/

Rhymes: -æv

calve (third-person singular simple present calves, present participle calving, simple past and past participle calved)

1. (intransitive) to give birth to a calf
2. (intransitive) to assist in a cow's giving birth to a calf
3. (transitive) to give birth to (a calf)
4. (intransitive, figuratively, especially of an ice shelf, a glacier, an ice sheet, or even an iceberg) to shed a large piece, e.g. an iceberg or a smaller block of ice (coming off an iceberg)

   The glacier was starting to calve even as we watched.

   The iceberg was starting to calve even as we watched.

5. (intransitive, figuratively, especially of an iceberg) to break off

   The sea was dangerous because of icebergs calving off the nearby glacier.

   The sea was dangerous because of ice blocks calving off the nearby iceberg.

   {{ux|en|When an iceberg breaks off from a large ice shelf along an existing fissure, it looks like a large, flat rectangle. Typically, only 10 percent of an iceberg is visible above the water. As it calved, the iceberg may have been smooth and flat underneath, but ocean currents would have quickly changed it.

6. (transitive, figuratively, especially of an ice shelf, a glacier, an ice sheet, or even an iceberg) 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)

   The glacier was starting to calve an iceberg even as we watched.

   The iceberg was starting to calve an ice block even as we watched.

• clave

calve

1. Feminine plural of adjective calvo.

calve f

1. plural of calva

• clave

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkal.we/, [ˈkaɫ.wɛ]

calve

1. vocative masculine singular of calvus