whelp

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a young dog or wolf, or the young of certain other carnivorous mammals

   The wolf carried the smallest whelp back toward the den.

2. 2
   verb

   to give birth to young, especially of a dog or another carnivorous mammal

   The hound whelped six healthy puppies during the night.

3. 3
   noun

   an insolent or contemptible young person; dated and insulting

   The angry officer dismissed the recruit as an arrogant whelp.

From Middle English whelp and Old English hwelp, from a Germanic word also represented by Dutch welp, German Welpe, and Old Norse hvelpr. The animal term is ancient; the contemptuous human sense transfers the idea of an immature animal to an inexperienced or objectionable youth.

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