How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. R. W. Holder. 2014.
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 — hwelp, welp n one of the young of various carnivorous mammals and esp. of the dog whelp vt to give birth to used of various carnivores and esp. the dog vi to bring forth young * * * (hwelp) 1. to give birth to; said of the female dog. 2. an… … Medical dictionary
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
