whelpy

W4H4E1L1P3Y4

adjective

Like or relating to a whelp (cub or puppy).

Scrabble 17

Meanings

whelpy1

adjectivewhelpy (comparative whelpier or more whelpy, superlative whelpiest or most whelpy)

comparative whelpier · comparative more whelpy · superlative whelpiest · superlative most whelpy

  1. Like or relating to a whelp (cub or puppy).

    A small, whelpy moan escaped from her, embarrassing her.

    2015, Celine Keating, Play for Me
    1 more example

    I was so nervous as I tried to hand-feed him, mixing up his whelpy drink, which has all the nutrients he would get from his mum if he were still nursing, and then trying him on slushy solid foods.

    2017, Andrea Hayes, Dog Tales

whelpy2

adjectivewhelpy (comparative whelpier or more whelpy, superlative whelpiest or most whelpy)

comparative whelpier · comparative more whelpy · superlative whelpiest · superlative most whelpy

  1. Festering or having welts or wheals; attery, purulent.

    A little whelpy. No big deal.” “Makeup will cover it up, right?”

    2012, Jenny B. Jones, A Charmed Life, page 521
    4 more examples

    […] the way from his breakfast room to Grandmomma's back door but as silverware and a garden spade and whelpy bee bites had not figured into his speculations […]

    1988, T. R. Pearson, The Last of how it was, page 48

    Stunning, worst comes to worst Springer'll bind off his whelpy first draft that way.

    1999, David Markson, Springer's Progress, page 212

    Mac is really feeling no pain, but she is lethargic and naps a couple of times a day. Also, she has a bright red, whelpy-looking rash on her upper chest around her neck. I'm going to get her some Benadryl cream, right now!

    2007, John Breed, Bethany Breed Martin, Mac a Book of Hope, page 29

    […] In a letter marked January 29, 1640, Descartes debated the reality of this post-rabies-whelpy-discharge, […]

    2020, Leslie C. Dunn, Performing Disability in Early Modern English Drama, page 174

Origin

whelpy · adjective

Origin uncertain. Perhaps an alteration of welt + -y; or from dialectal English whelpy meaning "sour, rancid".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

whelpy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelpy

MLA

“whelpy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelpy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whelpy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whelpy.

Source: whelpy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.