calve

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   of a cow or certain other large mammals: to give birth to a calf

   The cattle usually calve before the wet season begins.

2. 2
   verb

   to help a cow give birth to a calf

   The farmer stayed in the barn to calve a heifer that was in difficulty.

3. 3
   verb

   of a glacier or ice mass: to break off and release a large piece of ice

   Visitors heard the glacier calve into the sea with a thunderous crack.

From Old English calfian, 'to give birth to a calf,' formed from calf. Glaciology adopted the verb by analogy for a glacier producing and releasing an iceberg like an animal giving birth.

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