calf¹ (kăf, käf)
n., pl., calves (kăvz, kävz).

1. 1. A young cow or bull.
   2. The young of certain other mammals, such as the elephant or whale.
2. Calfskin leather.
3. A large floating chunk of ice split off from a glacier, iceberg, or floe.
4. An awkward, callow youth.

[Middle English, from Old English cealf.]

calf² (kăf, käf)
n., pl., calves (kăvz, kävz).
The fleshy muscular back part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

[Middle English, from Old Norse kālfi, possibly akin to CALF¹ (from its shape).]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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