Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Harpoon

Har-poon′

(här-poōn′)
,
Noun.
[F.
harpon
, LL.
harpo
, perh. of Ger. origin, fr. the
harp
; cf. F.
harper
to take and grasp strongly,
harpe
a dog’s claw,
harpin
boathook (the sense of
hook
coming from the shape of the harp); but cf. also Gr.
ἄρπη
the kite, sickle, and E.
harpy
. Cf.
Harp
.]
A spear or javelin used to strike and kill large fish, as whales; a harping iron. It consists of a long shank, with a broad, flat, triangular head, sharpened at both edges, and is thrown by hand, or discharged from a gun.
Harpoon fork
,
a kind of hayfork, consisting of a bar with hinged barbs at one end and a loop for a rope at the other end, used for lifting hay from the load by horse power.
–
Harpoon gun
,
a gun used in the whale fishery for shooting the harpoon into a whale.

Har-poon′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Harpooned
(-poōnd′)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Harpooning
.]
To strike, catch, or kill with a harpoon.

Webster 1828 Edition

Harpoon

HARPOON'

,
Noun.
[Gr. to seize with the claws; probably L. rapio, by transposition of letters.]
A harping-iron; a spear or javelin, used to strike whales for killing them. It consists of a long shank, with a broad flat triangular head, sharpened at both edges for penetrating the whale with facility. It is generally thrown by hand.

HARPOON'

,
Verb.
T.
To strike, catch or kill with a harpoon.
The beluga is usually caught in nets, but is sometimes harpooned.

Definition 2024

harpoon

harpoon

English

harpoon
a whaling harpoon

Noun

harpoon ‎(plural harpoons)

  1. A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
  2. (slang) A harmonica.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

harpoon ‎(third-person singular simple present harpoons, present participle harpooning, simple past and past participle harpooned)

  1. (transitive) To hunt something with a harpoon.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

Etymology

From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare 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”).

Pronunciation

Similar Results