Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sea calf

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.69 in modern English

Syllables
sea -calf
IPA
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of common seal (Phoca vitulina).

Obsolete

noun

the young of the manatee and dugong.

Dated

Etymology

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

What does sea calf mean?
Synonym of common seal (Phoca vitulina).
Where does sea calf come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce sea calf

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sea calf”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sea calf”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “sea calf” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.