calve
UK[kɑːv]US[kæv]
v
(of a cow or other large animal) to give birth to a calf
v
(of an iceberg or glacier) to break off or shed a mass of ice
Etymology
the verb 'calve' originates from the old english noun 'cealf,' meaning a young cow or the young of certain other large mammals. this noun has germanic roots, traceable to proto-germanic 'kalbaz' and further back to proto-indo-european 'gelb(h)-,' which may have conveyed a sense of womb or young animal. by the process of conversion or zero-derivation, common in english, the noun 'calf' gave rise to the verb 'calve' to describe the act of producing a calf. the term's semantic field later expanded by analogy in the 19th century to glaciology, describing the process where a glacier or iceberg 'gives birth' to a detached mass of ice.
Analysis
this is a simplex verb derived from a noun. it is not productively formed from smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern english.
Examples
the farmer noted that the herd is expected to calve in the spring.
scientists observed the glacier calve a massive iceberg into the fjord.
watching the whale calve was a rare and breathtaking experience.