HARPOON
harpoon
(noun) a spear with a shaft and barbed point for throwing; used for catching large fish or whales; a strong line is attached to it
harpoon
(verb) spear with a harpoon; “harpoon whales”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
harpoon (plural harpoons)
A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
(slang) A harmonica.
Verb
harpoon (third-person singular simple present harpoons, present participle harpooning, simple past and past participle harpooned)
(transitive) To shoot something with a harpoon.
Source: Wiktionary
Har*poon", n. Etym: [F. harpon, LL. harpo, perh. of Ger. origin, fr.
the harp; cf. F. harper to take and grasp strongly, harpe a dog's
claw, harpin boathook (the sense of hook coming from the shape of the
harp); but cf. also Gr. harpy. Cf. Harp.]
Definition: A spear or javelin used to strike and kill large fish, as
whales; a harping iron. It consists of a long shank, with a broad,
fiat, triangular head, sharpened at both edges, and is thrown by
hand, or discharged from a gun. Harpoon fork, a kind of hayfork,
consisting of bar with hinged barbs at one end a loop for a rope at
the other end, used for lifting hay from the load by horse power.
– Harpoon gun, a gun used in the whale fishery for shooting the
harpoon into a whale.
Har*poon", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Harpooned; p. pr. & vb. n.
Harpooning.]
Definition: To strike, catch, or kill with a harpoon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition