Whelp meaning

wĕlp, hwĕlp
A young lion, tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, etc.; cub.
noun
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The definition of a whelp is a young animal or child.

An example of a whelp is a puppy.

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Whelp is defined as to give birth.

An example of whelp is for a dog to have puppies.

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A young offspring of a carnivorous mammal, especially a dog or wolf.
noun
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To give birth to whelps or a whelp.
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To give birth to (whelps or a whelp).
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A young dog; puppy.
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A youth or child.
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Any of the teeth on a sprocket wheel.
noun
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To give birth to (young)
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A young offspring of a carnivorous mammal, especially a dog or wolf.
noun
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To give birth to whelps or a whelp.
verb
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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.
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(derogatory) An insolent youth; a mere child.
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One of several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a clipper-era ship.
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A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare sprocket, def. 2; cog, def. 1).
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(intransitive) (of she-dog, she-wolf, vixen, etc.) To give birth.

The bitch whelped.

The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.

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Origin of whelp

  • Middle English from Old English hwelp
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • Old English hwelp 'pup, wolf cub', from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz (compare Dutch welp, obsolete German Welf, Danish hvalp), from pre-Germanic *kÊ·elbos, from Proto-Indo-European *gÊ·elbhos (compare Old Church Slavonic жрѣбѧ (žrÄ›bÄ™) 'foal', Latin vulva, bolva, volba 'womb', Ancient Greek βρέφος (bréphos) 'fÅ“tus, newborn', Hittite huÄ“lpi 'overipe, fresh; newborn animal', Sanskrit उल्ब (úlba, úlva) 'womb').
    From Wiktionary