calve

[ kav, kahv ]

verb (used without object)

, calved, calv·ing.

1. to give birth to a calf:

   The cow is expected to calve tomorrow.

2. (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break up or splinter so as to produce a detached piece.

verb (used with object)

, calved, calv·ing.

1. to give birth to (a calf ).
2. (of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break off or detach (a piece):

   The glacier calved an iceberg.

calve

/ kɑːv /

verb

1. to give birth to (a calf)
2. (of a glacier or iceberg) to release (masses of ice) in breaking up

Word History and Origins

Origin of calve¹

before 1000; Middle English calven, Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calf calf ¹; cognate with Old English ( West Saxon ) cealfian

Example Sentences

Many dairy farms schedule calving to occur in late winter or early spring.

From Salon

The whales feast all summer long, and only then embark on a 6,000-mile journey south to Mexico, where females calve and nurse their young in the warm and protected inlets along the Baja Peninsula.

From Los Angeles Times

As they seep and calve into the sea, melting glaciers and ice sheets are raising global water levels at unprecedented rates.

From Science Daily

He found that as Greenland's ice sheet retreats inland, its iceberg calving likely will not persist long enough to completely derail the Atlantic circulation.

From Science Daily

Because they are so rare, very little is known about the movements, migration, breeding or calving of the North Pacific species, said Jim Scarff, an independent whale researcher in Berkeley.

From Seattle Times