Meanings
whelp1
plural whelps
- A young offspring of a various carnivores (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.
[…]And fared like a furious wyld Beare, / Whose whelpes are ſtolne away, ſhe being otherwhere.
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC1 more example
Pro. […]Then was this Iſland / (Saue for the Son, that he^([sic]) did littour heere, / A frekelld whelpe, hag-borne) not honour'd with / A humane ſhape.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4 - derogatoryAn insolent youth; a mere child.
Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!
2011 October 22, “Luna Eclipsed”, in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, spoken by Princess Luna1 more example
That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance.
1713 July 13, Joseph Addison, The Guardian - obsoleteA 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).
whelp2
present singular third person whelps · participle present whelping · participle past whelped · past whelped
- ambitransitiveusuallyshe-wolfTo give birth.
The bitch whelped.
1 more example
The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.
whelp3
- alternativeAlternative form of welp (“well”).
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
whelp · noun
- Proto-Germanic*hwelpaz
- Proto-West Germanic*hwelp
- Old Englishhwelp
- Middle Englishwhelp
- Englishwhelp
From Middle English whelp, from Old English hwelp, from Proto-West Germanic *hwelp, from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz (compare Dutch welp, German Welpe, Welfe, Old Norse hvelpr, Norwegian Nynorsk kvelp, Danish hvalp), from pre-Germanic *kʷelbos, of uncertain origin.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →whelp · verb
- Old Englishhwelpian
- Middle Englishwhelpen
- Englishwhelp
From Middle English whelpen, from Old English hwelpian, derived from hwelp.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σκύλαξ, σκύμνος
- σκύλαξ (skúlax)young of a mammal
- σκύμνος (skúmnos)young of a mammal
Bulgarian кутре, окучвам се
- кутре (kutre)young of a mammal
- окучвам се (okučvam se)(animals) to give birth
Catalan cadell, cadellar
- cadellyoung of a mammal
- cadellar(animals) to give birth
- quissoiar(animals) to give birth
Czech štěně, mládě
- štěněyoung of a mammal
- mláděyoung of a mammal
Danish hvalp, hvalpe, få hvalpe
- hvalpyoung of a mammal
- hvalpe, få hvalpe(animals) to give birth
Dutch welp
- welpyoung of a mammal
Esperanto hundido, lupido
- hundidoyoung of a mammal
- lupidoyoung of a mammal
Finnish poikanen
- poikanenyoung of a mammal
French chiot, louveteau
- chiotyoung of a mammal
- louveteauyoung of a mammal
- louvetelleyoung of a mammal
- petityoung of a mammal
- mettre bas(animals) to give birth
German Welpe, Welpin
- Welpeyoung of a mammal
- Welpinyoung of a mammal
- werfen(animals) to give birth
- Junge werfen(animals) to give birth
- jungen(animals) to give birth
- wölfen(animals) to give birth
Greek σκύμνος, γεννώ
- σκύμνος (skýmnos)young of a mammal
- γεννώ (gennó)(animals) to give birth
Hebrew גוּר, הִמְלִיט
- גוּר (gur)young of a mammal
- הִמְלִיט (himlít)(animals) to give birth
Hungarian ellik, megellik
- ellik(animals) to give birth
- megellik(animals) to give birth
Italian cucciolo
- cuccioloyoung of a mammal
Latin catulus, catellus
- catulusyoung of a mammal
- catellusyoung of a mammal
Norwegian hvalp
- hvalpyoung of a mammal
Polish szczenię, szczeniak
- szczenięyoung of a mammal
- szczeniakyoung of a mammal
Portuguese filhote, parir
- filhoteyoung of a mammal
- parir(animals) to give birth
Romanian cățel, lupan
- cățelyoung of a mammal
- lupanyoung of a mammal
- făta(animals) to give birth
Russian щено́к, щени́ться
- щено́к (ščenók)young of a mammal
- щени́ться (ščenítʹsja)(animals) to give birth
Spanish cachorro, caduelo
- cachorroyoung of a mammal
- cadueloyoung of a mammal
- cadilloyoung of a mammal
- parir(animals) to give birth
Swedish valp
- valpyoung of a mammal
Turkish enik
- enikyoung of a mammal
Welsh bwrw
- bwrw(animals) to give birth
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with whelp
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
whelp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelp
“whelp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelp. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whelp,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelp.
Source: whelp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.