Word of the Day

: August 23, 2008

callow

adjective KAL-oh

What It Means

: lacking adult sophistication : immature

callow in Context

"Back when I was a callow college student," said Emma, "I paid little attention to the advice given to me by my professors."

Did You Know?

You might not expect a relationship between "callow" and baldness, but that connection does in fact exist. "Callow" comes from "calu," a word that meant "bald" in Middle English and Old English. By the 17th century, "callow" had come to mean "without feathers" and was applied to young birds not yet ready for flight. The term was also used for those who hadn't yet spread their wings in a figurative sense. "Callow" continues to mean "inexperienced" or "unsophisticated" today.