whelp

== English == === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /wɛlp/ (without the wine–whine merger) IPA(key): /ʍɛlp/ Rhymes: -ɛlp Homophone: welp (wine–whine merger) ==== Noun ==== whelp (plural whelps) 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. (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! (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). ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== Guelph === Etymology 2 === From Middle English whelpen, from Old English hwelpian, derived from hwelp. ==== 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. ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Variant of welp. ==== Interjection ==== whelp Alternative form of welp (“well”). == Middle English == === Alternative forms === qwelpe, welp, welpe, whelpe hwelp, hweolp (Early Middle English); whellp (Ormulum) quelp, quelpe, quilpe, qwelp (especially Northern); ȝwelp (Southern); weolp (West Midland) === Etymology === From Old English hwelp, from Proto-West Germanic *hwelp, from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz. The West Midland forms hweolp, weolp show a development of /ɛ/ into /œ/ under the influence of the preceding /w/ and the following labial (like tweolf, weob, weopmon). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /hwɛlp/ (dialectal) IPA(key): /wɛlp/, /xwɛlp/ === Noun === whelp (plural whelpes) A whelp (a puppy; a baby dog) A whelp (the young of other animals, especially canids and felids) A whelp (as an insulting term) (rare) An unknown mechanical device or system. ==== Related terms ==== whelpen whelpynge ==== Descendants ==== English: whelp Scots: whalp, whaulp ==== References ====