whelp
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Whelp — Whelp, n. [AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Whelp — Whelp, v. t. To bring forth, as cubs or young; to give birth to. [1913 Webster] Unless she had whelped it herself, she could not have loved a thing better. B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] Did thy foul fancy whelp so black a scheme? Young. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Whelp — Whelp, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Whelped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Whelping}.] To bring forth young; said of the female of the dog and some beasts of prey. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
whelp — (n.) O.E. hwelp whelp, young of the dog, from a Gmc. root related to O.S. hwelp, O.N. hvelpr, Du. welp, Ger. hwelf; of unknown origin. Now largely displaced by PUPPY (Cf. puppy). Also applied to wild animals. Sense of scamp first recorded early… … Etymology dictionary
whelp — whelp·less; whelp; … English syllables
whelp — ► NOUN chiefly archaic 1) a puppy. 2) derogatory a boy or young man. ► VERB ▪ give birth to (a puppy). ORIGIN Old English … English terms dictionary
whelp — [hwelp, welp] n. [ME < OE hwelp, akin to Ger welf, ON hvelpr, puppy, prob. < IE * kwel , var. of base * kel , to cry out, call > LOW2, Welsh colwyn, puppy] 1. a young dog; puppy 2. a young lion, tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, etc.; cub 3. a … English World dictionary
whelp — I UK [welp] / US / US [hwelp] noun [countable] Word forms whelp : singular whelp plural whelps an old word meaning a very young animal, such as a young dog, bear, or wolf, that is still being fed by its mother II UK [welp] / US / US [hwelp] verb… … English dictionary
whelp — This was the normal word for a young dog until largely replaced in that role by ‘puppy’. In vocative use ‘you young whelp’ is sometimes synonymous with ‘you young puppy’, used to a saucy or impertinent young man, but it can also be a stronger… … A dictionary of epithets and terms of address
whelp — whelp1 [ welp, hwelp ] noun count an old word meaning a very young dog, bear, etc. that is still being fed by its mother whelp whelp 2 [ welp, hwelp ] verb intransitive or transitive if a female dog, bear, etc. whelps, it has babies … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
