Word Study
callow
CIDE DICTIONARY
callow, a. [OE. calewe, calu, bald, AS. calu; akin to D. kaal, OHG. chalo, G. Kuhl; cf. L. calvus.].
- Destitute of feathers; naked; unfledged. [1913 Webster]"An in the leafy summit, spied a nest,
Which, o'er the callow young, a sparrow pressed." [1913 Webster] - Immature; boyish; “green”; as, a callow youth. [1913 Webster]"I perceive by this, thou art but a callow maid." [1913 Webster]
callow, n. [Named from its note.].
A kind of duck. See Old squaw. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
callow, adj. inexperienced, immature.
Derivative
callowly adv. callowness n.
Etymology
OE calu
THESAURUS
callow
a novice at, a stranger to, adolescent, arrested, at half cock, awkward, blankminded, budding, defective, deficient, dewy, dumb, embryonic, empty, empty-headed, ever-new, evergreen, failing, firsthand, fledgling, fresh, gauche, green, green as grass, groping, growing, guileless, half-baked, half-cocked, half-grown, hypoplastic, ignorant, ill-digested, immature, impubic, in arrear, in arrears, in default, in short supply, inadequate, inane, incomplete, inexperienced, infant, ingenuous, innocent, intact, juicy, juvenile, know-nothing, lacking, maiden, maidenly, minor, missing, naive, needing, neoteric, nescient, nestling, new, new to, new-fledged, original, part, partial, patchy, pristine, raw, ripening, sappy, scant, scanty, scrappy, sempervirent, short, shy, simple, sketchy, strange to, tender, tentative, unaccustomed to, unacquainted, unacquainted with, unadult, unapprized, unbeaten, uncomprehending, unconversant, unconversant with, underage, underdeveloped, underripe, undeveloped, unenlightened, unexperienced, unfamiliar, unfamiliar with, unfledged, unformed, ungrown, unhandled, unilluminated, uninformed, uninitiated, uninitiated in, unintelligent, unknowing, unlicked, unmatured, unmellowed, unposted, unpracticed, unpracticed in, unripe, unseasoned, unskilled in, unsophisticated, unsure, untouched, untried, untrodden, unused, unused to, unversed, unversed in, vacuous, vernal, virgin, virginal, wanting, young, youthfulROGET THESAURUS
callow
Youth
N youth, juvenility, juvenescence, juniority, infancy, babyhood, childhood, boyhood, girlhood, youthhood, incunabula, minority, nonage, teens, tender age, bloom, cradle, nursery, leading strings, pupilage, puberty, pucelage, prime of life, flower of life, springtide of life, seedtime of life, golden season of life, heyday of youth, school days, rising generation, young, youthful, juvenile, green, callow, budding, sappy, puisne, beardless, under age, in one's teens, in statu pupillari, younger, junior, hebetic, unfledged, youth on the prow and pleasure at the helm, youth a the glad season of life.Infant
N infant, babe, baby, babe in arms, nurseling, suckling, yearling, weanling, papoose, bambino, kid, vagitus, child, bairn, little one, brat, chit, pickaninny, urchin, bantling, bratling, elf, youth, boy, lad, stripling, youngster, youngun, younker, callant, whipster, whippersnapper, whiffet, schoolboy, hobbledehoy, hopeful, cadet, minor, master, scion, sap, seedling, tendril, olive branch, nestling, chicken, larva, chrysalis, tadpole, whelp, cub, pullet, fry, callow, codlin, codling, foetus, calf, colt, pup, foal, kitten, lamb, lambkin, aurelia, caterpillar, cocoon, nymph, nympha, orphan, pupa, staddle, girl, lass, lassie, wench, miss, damsel, demoiselle, maid, maiden, virgin, hoyden, infantine, infantile, puerile, boyish, girlish, childish, babyish, kittenish, baby, newborn, unfledged, new-fledged, callow, in the cradle, in swaddling clothes, in long clothes, in arms, in leading strings, at the breast, in one's teens, infant, babe, baby, babe in arms, nurseling, suckling, yearling, weanling, papoose, bambino, kid, vagitus, child, bairn, little one, brat, chit, pickaninny, urchin, bantling, bratling, elf, youth, boy, lad, stripling, youngster, youngun, younker, callant, whipster, whippersnapper, whiffet, schoolboy, hobbledehoy, hopeful, cadet, minor, master, scion, sap, seedling, tendril, olive branch, nestling, chicken, larva, chrysalis, tadpole, whelp, cub, pullet, fry, callow, codlin, codling, foetus, calf, colt, pup, foal, kitten, lamb, lambkin, aurelia, caterpillar, cocoon, nymph, nympha, orphan, pupa, staddle, girl, lass, lassie, wench, miss, damsel, demoiselle, maid, maiden, virgin, hoyden, infantine, infantile, puerile, boyish, girlish, childish, babyish, kittenish, baby, newborn, unfledged, new-fledged, callow, in the cradle, in swaddling clothes, in long clothes, in arms, in leading strings, at the breast, in one's teens.Divestment
N divestment, taking off, nudity, bareness, undress, dishabille, the altogether, nudation, denudation, decortication, depilation, excoriation, desquamation, molting, exfoliation, trichosis, divested, bare, naked, nude, undressed, undraped, denuded, exposed, in dishabille, bald, threadbare, ragged, callow, roofless, in a state of nature, in nature's garb, in the buff, in native buff, in birthday suit, in puris naturalibus, with nothing on, stark naked, stark raving naked, bald as a coot, bare as the back of one's hand, out at elbows, barefoot, bareback, barebacked, leafless, napless, hairless.For further exploring for "callow" in Webster Dictionary Online