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View synonyms for whelk

whelk

1

[ welk, hwelk ]

noun

  1. any of several large, spiral-shelled, marine gastropods of the family Buccinidae, especially Buccinum undatum, that is used for food in Europe.


whelk

2

[ welk, hwelk ]

noun

  1. a pimple or pustule.

whelk

1

/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. a raised lesion on the skin; wheal


whelk

2

/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. any carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc of the family Buccinidae, of coastal waters and intertidal regions, having a strong snail-like shell

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Derived Forms

  • ˈwhelky, adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of whelk1

before 900; late Middle English, aspirated variant of Middle English welk, Old English weoloc

Origin of whelk2

before 1000; Middle English whelke, Old English hwylca, hwelca; akin to wheal

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Word History and Origins

Origin of whelk1

Old English hwylca, of obscure origin

Origin of whelk2

Old English weoloc; related to Middle Dutch willok, Old Norse vil entrails

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Example Sentences

As he grows he needs a larger house, and so leaves the tight shell and pops his tail into a bigger one, generally a whelk shell.

Some of them would swallow the whelk shell, crab and all, but they would not eat one on which an Anemone was fixed.

The Whelk, however, is a clever burglar; he knows how to make a way into the hardest of shelly houses.

Now we will look at a shell-builder, the Whelk, who uses his flinty tongue in quite another fashion.

The whelk and his cousins know how to bore a hole in the shell, and suck out the helpless Oyster.

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