harpoon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a heavy spear with a barbed head, usually attached to a line, thrown or fired to catch whales and other large aquatic animals

   The harpooneer coiled the line before raising the harpoon.

2. 2
   verb

   to strike, catch, or kill an aquatic animal with a harpoon

   The crew harpooned the whale from the bow of the open boat.

Probably through Dutch harpoen from Middle Dutch, ultimately from Old French harpon, a clamp or grappling iron, and harper, to grapple. The French family may be related to Latin harpa and Greek harpe, a hook or sickle. English first used the noun in the early seventeenth century.

Topics