different between callow vs ridiculous

English

Etymology

From Middle English calwe (“bald”), from Old English calu (“callow, bare, bald”), from Proto-Germanic *kalwaz (“bare, naked, bald”), from Proto-Indo-European gel(H)wo- (“naked, bald”). Cognate with West Frisian keal (“bald”), Dutch kaal (“bald”), German kahl (“bald”), Russian ?????? (gólyj, “nude”), Latin calvus (“bald”), Persian ??? (kal), Sanskrit ????? (kulvá).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?kælo?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?kal??/
• Rhymes: -æl??

Adjective

callow (comparative callower or more callow, superlative callowest or most callow)

1. Unfledged (of a young bird).
2. (by extension) Immature, lacking in life experience.

   Antonyms: mature, experienced
3. Lacking color or firmness (of some kinds of insects or other arthropods, such as spiders, just after ecdysis); teneral.
4. Shallow or weak-willed.
5. (of a brick) Unburnt.
6. Of land: low-lying and liable to be submerged.
7. (obsolete) Bald.

Translations

Noun

callow (countable and uncountable, plural callows)

1. A callow young bird.
2. A callow or teneral phase of an insect or other arthropod, typically shortly after ecdysis, while the skin still is hardening, the colours have not yet become stable, and as a rule, before the animal is able to move effectively.
3. An alluvial flat.

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “callow”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• low-cal

English

Alternative forms

• rediculous (archaic, eye dialect, or misspelling)
• radiculous (rare, obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin r?diculus (“laughable, ridiculous”); see ridicule.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, UK, US) IPA^(key): /???d?kj?l?s/, /?i??d?kj?l?s/
• (Wales) IPA^(key): /???d?kl?s/
• Rhymes: -?kj?l?s

Adjective

ridiculous (comparative more ridiculous, superlative most ridiculous)

1. Deserving of ridicule; foolish; absurd.

   Synonyms: silly, willy nilly, frivolous, goofy, funny, humorous, absurd, odd, surreal, unreasonable; see also Thesaurus:absurd

   Antonyms: straightforward, serious, somber, solemn

2. Astonishing; unbelievable.

Derived terms

• ridic
• ridiculousness

Related terms

• deride
• derision
• ridicule
• ridiculable
• ridiculosity
• ridiculously

Translations

Further reading

• ridiculous at OneLook Dictionary Search
• ridiculous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ridiculous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.