callow

adjective

cal·​low ˈka-(ˌ)lō How to pronounce callow (audio)
: lacking adult sophistication : immature
callow youth
callow newcomers
callowness
ˈka-lō-nəs How to pronounce callow (audio)
-lə-nəs
noun

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The Connection Between Callow and Baldness

Although callow birds—that is, featherless, baby birds—are quite visibly (and audibly) hungry for the world beyond their nest, they are just as visibly immature, far from ready to step, or hop, into it. This meaning of callow isn’t common (we only define the word this way in our Unabridged dictionary), but it both links the word directly to its origin, the Old English word calu, meaning “bald,” and to today’s more common use in describing someone possessed of youthful naiveté. Calu eventually fledged into callow with the same “bald, hairless” meaning, but was applied to bald land too—that is, land denuded of vegetation or not producing it in the first place. By the 16th century, callow had expanded beyond the literal sense of “lacking hair or flora” to its avian use of “lacking feathers” as well as to today’s familiar application to people. Callow now is most often used to suggest the inexperience or immaturity of young people brimming with confidence but still, figuratively, unfledged.

Examples of callow in a Sentence

a story about a callow youth who learns the value of hard work and self-reliance
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For me, DiCaprio, now pushing 50, nevertheless almost always seems too callow, too green, for the roles he’s called upon to play, especially in his many Scorsese films. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2023 He was hardly callow. Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2020 These comments expressed the callow moral vanity at the core of EA. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 16 Nov. 2022 No longer a brash, callow youth, Mitchell, with his still-eager grin, shows the furrows of age and experience — and the moral sincerity of Cruise’s memorable late performances, especially Minority Report and The War of the Worlds. Armond White, National Review, 27 May 2022 See all Example Sentences for callow 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English calu bald, from Old English; akin to Old High German kalo bald, Old Church Slavic golŭ bare

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of callow was in 1580

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Dictionary Entries Near callow

Cite this Entry

“Callow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/callow. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

callow

adjective
cal·​low ˈkal-ō How to pronounce callow (audio)
: lacking adult experience : immature
callow youth
callowness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on callow

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