Dictionary

whelp en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ʍɛlp/ without the wine–whine merger
• /wɛlp/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English whelp, from Old English hwelp, from Proto-West Germanic *hwelp, from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz (compare Dutch welp, German Welpe, Welfe, Old Norse hvelpr, Norwegian Nynorsk kvelp, Danish hvalp), from pre-Germanic *kʷelbos, of uncertain origin.

Meanings

1. A young offspring of a various carnivores (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.
   • […]And fared like a furious wyld Beare, / Whose whelpes are ſtolne away, ſhe being otherwhere. 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
   • Pro. […]Then was this Iſland / (Saue for the Son, that he^([sic]) did littour heere, / A frekelld whelpe, hag-borne) not honour'd with / A humane ſhape. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4:
2. (derogatory) An insolent youth; a mere child.
   • July 13, 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance.
   • October 22, 2011, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, "Luna Eclipsed" Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!
3. (obsolete) A kind of ship.
4. One of several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a clipper-era ship.
5. A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare sprocket and cog).

Forms

Deriveds

wolf's whelp · wolf-whelp · whelpling · whelpie · fox's whelp · whelping ice · fox-whelp · wolf whelp · bear-whelp · fox whelp · whelpy

Relateds

Guelph

Translations (54)

nds Wölp (young of a mammal) · csb szczeniôk (young of a mammal) · no hvalp (young of a mammal) · zlw-opl szczeniec (young of a mammal) · ang hwelp (young of a mammal) · fi poikanen (young of a mammal) · es caduelo (young of a mammal) · el σκύμνος (young of a mammal) · tr enik (young of a mammal) · he גוּר (young of a mammal) · da hvalp (young of a mammal) · it cucciolo (young of a mammal) · eo lupido (young of a mammal) · fr chiot (young of a mammal) · bg кутре (young of a mammal) · ru щено́к (young of a mammal) · ro cățel (young of a mammal) · la catellus (young of a mammal) · fo hvølpur (young of a mammal) · csb czëczôk (young of a mammal) · pl szczenię (young of a mammal) · vo dogül (young of a mammal) · nds Welp (young of a mammal) · nl welp (young of a mammal) · szl szczyniã (young of a mammal) · io hundyuno (young of a mammal) · zlw-opl szczenię (young of a mammal) · es cachorro (young of a mammal) · grc σκύμνος (young of a mammal) · de Welpin (young of a mammal) · la catulus (young of a mammal) · de Welpe (young of a mammal) · fr louveteau (young of a mammal) · fr petit (young of a mammal) · es cadillo (young of a mammal) · nds Wülp (young of a mammal) · csb czeczã (young of a mammal) · pt filhote (young of a mammal) · pl szczeniak (young of a mammal) · wyi boobop yerranginin (young of a mammal) · cs mládě (young of a mammal) · ro lupan (young of a mammal) · fr louvetelle (young of a mammal) · hy ձագ (young of a mammal) · io volfyuno (young of a mammal) · pox stiną (young of a mammal) · grc σκύλαξ (young of a mammal) · csb szczeniã (young of a mammal) · vo lupül (young of a mammal) · cs štěně (young of a mammal) · sv valp (young of a mammal) · gl cachorro (young of a mammal) · ca cadell (young of a mammal) · eo hundido (young of a mammal)

wikipedia: Proto-Germanic language#Pre-Proto-Germanic (Pre-PGmc)

whelp en · VERB · etymology 2

Etymology

From Middle English whelpen, from Old English hwelpian, derived from hwelp.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive, of she-dog, qualifier:she-wolf, usually) To give birth.
   • The bitch whelped.
   • The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.

Forms

Translations (21)

es parir ((animals) to give birth) · fo leggja ((animals) to give birth) · gl parir ((animals) to give birth) · bg окучвам се ((animals) to give birth) · de werfen ((animals) to give birth) · pt parir ((animals) to give birth) · ca quissoiar ((animals) to give birth) · hu ellik ((animals) to give birth) · cy bwrw ((animals) to give birth) · ro făta ((animals) to give birth) · ca cadellar ((animals) to give birth) · ang hwelpian ((animals) to give birth) · ru щени́ться ((animals) to give birth) · de wölfen ((animals) to give birth) · fr mettre bas ((animals) to give birth) · hu megellik ((animals) to give birth) · he הִמְלִיט ((animals) to give birth) · de Junge werfen ((animals) to give birth) · de jungen ((animals) to give birth) · da hvalpe, få hvalpe ((animals) to give birth) · el γεννώ ((animals) to give birth)

whelp en · INTJ · etymology 3

Etymology

Variant of welp.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of welp (“well”).
   alt of welp