mooncalf

Definition

An abnormal mass within the uterus; a false conception.

Etymology

From moon + calf, after a superstition that the moon caused abnormal fetal development.

Example Sentences

• "Thou art very Trinculo indeed! How camest thou to be the siege of this moon-calf? Can he vent Trinculos?"
• "“[…] you’re a jobbernowl and a doodle, a maundering mooncalf and a blockheaded numps, a gaby and a loon; you’re a Hatter!” I shrieked the last epithet."
• "But I can think of no one but a mooncalf or a gaby Who would trust their own child to raise a baby."

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