callow

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   inexperienced and immature

   The callow recruit made several beginner's mistakes.

Simplified etymology

Callow comes from Old English calu, meaning “bald.” From the mid-16th century it was also used of young birds that were not yet able to fly. Their downy appearance suggested the down on a youth’s face, leading to the modern sense “immature or inexperienced.”

From Old English calu ('bald, featherless'), from Proto-Germanic *kalwaz, perhaps from Latin calvus ('bald'). The sense moved from 'unfledged (of a young bird)' to 'immature, inexperienced'.

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