whelp

American  

[hwelp, welp] / ʰwɛlp, wɛlp /

noun

1. the young of a carnivore, as a dog, bear, lion, seal, etc.

2. a youth, especially an impudent or despised one.

   Synonyms:

   whippersnapper, urchin, brat

3. Machinery.

   1. any of a series of longitudinal projections or ridges on the barrel of a capstan, windlass, etc.

   2. any of the teeth of a sprocket wheel.

---

verb (used with or without object)

1. (of a female dog, lion, etc.) to give birth to (young).

whelp British  

/ wɛlp /

noun

1. a young offspring of certain animals, esp of a wolf or dog

2. derogatory a young man or youth

3. humorous a young child

4. nautical any of the ridges, parallel to the axis, on the drum of a capstan to keep a rope, cable, or chain from slipping

---

verb

1. (of an animal or, disparagingly, a woman) to give birth to (young)

Other Word Forms

• unwhelped adjective
• whelpless adjective

Etymology

Origin of whelp

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun, from Old English hwelp (cognate with Old Norse hvelpr, Old Saxon hwelp, Old High German hwelf, welf, German Welf); verb derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

And for this match at the Kennington Oval, a desperate England were blooding eight new internationals, including a 17-year-old whelp, James Prinsep.

From The Guardian • Feb. 11, 2011

Gandhi, whose mother's policies had done much to whelp and teethe the Tigers, earned their enmity in 1987 when he co-authored a peace plan for their offshore island republic.

From Time Magazine Archive

Anything is possible, but this script makes Nolte seem a rather sullen whelp.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some lousy whelp stole my snow shovel off my porch last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

Of a certain runty rat-faced boy, Tormund said, “That one’s a whelp of Varamyr Sixskins. You remember Varamyr, Lord Crow?”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin