Whelp Definition
wĕlp, hwĕlp
whelped, whelping, whelps
noun
whelps
A young dog; puppy.
Webster's New World
A young lion, tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, etc.; cub.
Webster's New World
A youth or child.
Webster's New World
An impudent boy or young man.
American Heritage
Any of the teeth on a sprocket wheel.
Webster's New World
verb
whelped, whelping, whelps
To give birth to (young)
Webster's New World
To give birth to (whelps or a whelp).
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Origin of Whelp
-
Old English hwelp 'pup, wolf cub', from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz (compare Dutch welp, obsolete German Welf, Danish hvalp), from pre-Germanic *kʷelbos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelbhos (compare Old Church Slavonic жрѣбѧ (žrěbę) 'foal', Latin vulva, bolva, volba 'womb', Ancient Greek βρέφος (bréphos) 'fœtus, newborn', Hittite huēlpi 'overipe, fresh; newborn animal', Sanskrit उल्ब (úlba, úlva) 'womb').
From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old English hwelp
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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