Meanings
plural harpoons
- A long, spearlike implement with a barbed head, attached to a line and used to catch and haul in large marine animals such as whales and other cetaceans, seals, walruses, sharks, etc.
- Such an implement armed with explosives in the head, used to strike and fatally wound cetaceans when whaling.
Synonyms: exploding harpoon, explosive harpoon, whaling harpoon
- slangA harmonica.
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana.
1969, Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster, “Me and Bobby McGee”
present singular third person harpoons · participle present harpooning · participle past harpooned · past harpooned
- transitiveTo shoot something with a harpoon.
Pilot whales, also known as blackfish, were fairly plentiful, and Mundus would harpoon one or two, haul them out onto the beach, and butcher them.
1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 176
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSuch an implement armed with explosives in the head, used to strike and fatally wound cetaceans when whaling.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἁρπάγη“hook”
- Latinharpaga
- Old Frenchharpon
- Englishharpoon
From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη (harpágē, “hook”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch away, to carry off, to seize, to captivate”). Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch harpoen (“harpoon”). Doublet of harpagon.
More words from Old French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَرْبُون
- حَرْبُون (ḥarbūn)spearlike weapon
Basque arpoi, arpoitu
- arpoispearlike weapon
- arpoituto hunt with a harpoon
Bengali টেটা
- টেটা (ṭeṭa)spearlike weapon
Bulgarian харпу́н, харпуни́рам
- харпу́н (harpún)spearlike weapon
- харпуни́рам (harpuníram)to hunt with a harpoon
Catalan arpó, arponar
- arpóspearlike weapon
- arponarto hunt with a harpoon
Chinese Mandarin 漁叉 /渔叉
- 漁叉 /渔叉 (yúchā)spearlike weapon
Czech harpuna
- harpunaspearlike weapon
Danish harpun
- harpunspearlike weapon
Dutch harpoen, harpoeneren
- harpoenspearlike weapon
- harpoenerento hunt with a harpoon
Esperanto harpuno
- harpunospearlike weapon
Estonian harpuun
- harpuunspearlike weapon
Finnish harppuuna, harppunoida
- harppuunaspearlike weapon
- harppunoidato hunt with a harpoon
French harpon, harponner
- harponspearlike weapon
- harponnerto hunt with a harpoon
German Harpune
- Harpunespearlike weapon
Greek καμάκι
- καμάκι (kamáki)spearlike weapon
Hindi हापून
- हापून (hāpūn)spearlike weapon
Hungarian szigony, szigonyoz
- szigonyspearlike weapon
- szigonyozto hunt with a harpoon
Icelandic skutull
- skutullspearlike weapon
Italian arpione, arpionare
- arpionespearlike weapon
- arpionareto hunt with a harpoon
- fiocinareto hunt with a harpoon
Japanese 銛, ハープーン
- 銛 (mori)spearlike weapon
- ハープーン (hāpūn)spearlike weapon
Korean 작살
- 작살 (jaksal)spearlike weapon
Latvian harpūna
- harpūnaspearlike weapon
Lithuanian harpūnas
- harpūnasspearlike weapon
Māori haeanarāti, rāti
- haeanarātispearlike weapon
- rātispearlike weapon
- haeanaspearlike weapon
- rātito hunt with a harpoon
Norwegian Bokmål harpun
- harpunspearlike weapon
Persian شل
- شل (šel)spearlike weapon
Polish harpun
- harpunspearlike weapon
Portuguese arpão, arpoar
- arpãospearlike weapon
- arpoarto hunt with a harpoon
Romanian harpon
- harponspearlike weapon
Russian гарпу́н, острога́
- гарпу́н (garpún)spearlike weapon
- острога́ (ostrogá)spearlike weapon
Scottish Gaelic morghath
- morghathspearlike weapon
Slovak harpúna
- harpúnaspearlike weapon
Spanish arpón, arponar
- arpónspearlike weapon
- arponarto hunt with a harpoon
Swedish harpun, harpunera
- harpunspearlike weapon
- harpunerato hunt with a harpoon
Tagalog salapang
- salapangspearlike weapon
Thai ฉมวก
- ฉมวก (chà-mùuak)spearlike weapon
Turkish zıpkın, zıpkınlamak
- zıpkınspearlike weapon
- zıpkınlamakto hunt with a harpoon
Ukrainian гарпу́н, о́стень
- гарпу́н (harpún)spearlike weapon
- о́стень (óstenʹ)spearlike weapon
- о́сті (ósti)spearlike weapon
Vietnamese lao móc
- lao mócspearlike weapon
Welsh tryfer, tryferu
- tryferspearlike weapon
- tryferuto hunt with a harpoon
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with harpoon
Cite this entry
harpoon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harpoon
“harpoon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harpoon. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harpoon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harpoon.
Source: harpoon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.