WHELP

pup, whelp

(noun) young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf

whelp, pup

(verb) give birth to (a puppy); “the dog whelped”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

whelp (plural whelps)

A young offspring of a canid (ursid, felid, pinniped), especially of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion, tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub.

(derogatory) An insolent youth; a mere child.

(obsolete) A kind of ship.

One of several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a clipper-era ship.

A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare sprocket and cog).

Etymology 2

Verb

whelp (third-person singular simple present whelps, present participle whelping, simple past and past participle whelped)

(ambitransitive, of she-dog, she-wolf, vixen, etc.) To give birth.

Etymology 3

Interjection

whelp

Alternative form of welp (“well”)

Source: Wiktionary


Whelp, n. Etym: [AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.]

1. One of the young of a dog or a beast of prey; a puppy; a cub; as, a lion's whelps. "A bear robbed of her whelps." 2 Sam. xvii. 8.

2. A child; a youth; -- jocosely or in contempt. That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance. Addison.

3. (Naut.)

Definition: One of the longitudinal ribs or ridges on the barrel of a capstan or a windless; -- usually in the plural; as, the whelps of a windlass.

4. One of the teeth of a sprocket wheel.

Whelp, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whelped; p. pr. & vb. n. Whelping.]

Definition: To bring forth young; -- said of the female of the dog and some beasts of prey.

Whelp, v. t.

Definition: To bring forth, as cubs or young; to give birth to. Unless she had whelped it herself, she could not have loved a thing better. B. Jonson. Did thy foul fancy whelp so black a scheme Young.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 May 2025

HEEDLESS

(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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