sea calf

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sea calf

Where it comes from

From Middle English see calf, ultimately a calque of Latin vitulus marīnus (literally “sea calf”). Compare French veau marin and German Seekalb. See also Latin porcus marīnus (“porpoise”, literally “sea pork”), rāna marīna (“anglerfish”, literally “sea frog”), bōs marīna (“sea cow, dugong”), caballus marīnus (“seahorse”), canis marīnus (“seal”, synonym of vitulus marīnus, literally “sea dog”) and translingual Phoca vitulina (“calf-like seal, sea calf”). Equivalent to sea + calf.

noun sea calves · sea calfs · seacalf · sea-calf

obsolete Synonym of common seal (Phoca vitulina).
Similar: common seal
dated the young of the manatee and dugong.

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MLA

"sea calf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sea%20calf. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sea calf. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sea%20calf

Chicago

"sea calf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sea%20calf.

BibTeX

@misc{sea_calf_2026,
  title = {sea calf},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sea%20calf},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}