whelp Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf
    pup.
  2. verb birth
    pup.
    • the dog whelped

WordNet

Whelp noun
Etymology
AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.
Definitions
  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.
  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 windlass.
  4. One of the teeth of a sprocket wheel.
Whelp intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Whelped ; present participle & verbal noun Whelping
Definitions
  1. To bring forth young; -- said of the female of the dog and some beasts of prey.
Whelp transitive verb
Definitions
  1. 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 1913