Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Whelp
Whelp
,Noun.
[AS.
hwelp
; akin to D. welp
, G. & OHG. welf
, Icel. hvelpr
, Dan. hvalp
, Sw. valp
.] 1.
One of the young of a dog or a beast of prey; a puppy; a cub;
“A bear robbed of her whelps.” as, a lion’s
. whelps
2 Sam. xvii. 8.
2.
A child; a youth; – jocosely or in contempt.
That awkward
whelp
with his money bags would have made his entrance. Addison.
3.
(Naut.)
One of the longitudinal ribs or ridges on the barrel of a capstan or a windless; – usually in the plural;
as, the
. whelps
of a windlass4.
One of the teeth of a sprocket wheel.
Whelp
,Verb.
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.
Whelp
,Verb.
T.
To bring forth, as cubs or young; to give birth to.
Unless she had
whelped
it herself, she could not have loved a thing better. B. Jonson.
Did thy foul fancy
whelp
so black a scheme? Young.
Webster 1828 Edition
Whelp
WHELP
,Noun.
1.
The young of the canine species, and of several other beasts of prey; a puppy; a cub; as a bear robbed of her whelps; lions whelps.2.
A son; in contempt.3.
A young man; in contempt.WHELP
,Verb.
I.
Definition 2024
whelp
whelp
English
Noun
whelp (plural whelps)
- 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.
- (derogatory) An insolent youth; a mere child.
- Addison
- That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance.
- Addison
- (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
- fox whelp, fox-whelp, fox's whelp (foxling)
- (Newfoundland) whelping ice
- whelpling
- wolf whelp, wolf-whelp, wolf's whelp
Translations
young of a mammal
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See also
Verb
whelp (third-person singular simple present whelps, present participle whelping, simple past and past participle whelped)
- (transitive, intransitive) (of she-dog, she-wolf, vixen, etc.) To give birth.
- The bitch whelped.
- The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.
Translations
(animals) to give birth