Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the OP, but I ask way more questions now than I used to. Before, I’d sometimes wonder about things, but not enough to actually go and research them. Now, it’s as simple as asking the AI, and more often than not, I get a satisfying answer.
What was the last thing you asked about? What was the answer?
1. Calf (young cow, young of certain other mammals)
Old English: cealf (plural calfru or later calves)
Proto-Germanic: kalbaz or *kalbaz/kalbazō
Cognates: Old Norse kálfr, Old High German kalb, German Kalb, Dutch kalf.
Proto-Indo-European root: often linked to gel- (“to swell, be rounded”), possibly referring to the rounded shape of a young animal. Some etymologists, however, leave it as “origin uncertain” beyond Proto-Germanic.
2. Calf (back of the lower leg)
Old English: caf, cealf (“calf of the leg”) — likely related to the animal term, but the link is uncertain.
Possible origin: Could be from the same gel- “swell” root, referring to the bulging muscle at the back of the leg, or an independent development within Germanic.
Cognates: Old Norse kálfi (“calf of the leg”), Swedish kalv (leg calf), Icelandic kálfi.