calve |køv| |kɑv| verb 1 [ intrans. ] (of cows and certain other large animals) give birth to a calf. • [ trans. ] (of a person) help (a cow) give birth to a calf. 2 [ trans. ] (of an iceberg or glacier) split and shed (a smaller mass of ice). • [ intrans. ] (of a mass of ice) split off from an iceberg or glacier. ORIGIN Old English calfian, from cælf [calf.]