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Wiktionary The Free Dictionary

harpoon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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harpoon
a whaling harpoon

Etymology

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From Old French harpon , from Latin harpaga , a 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"). Doublet of harpagon .

Pronunciation

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Noun

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harpoon (plural harpoons )

  1. A long, spearlike implement with a barbed head, attached to a line and used to catch and haul in large marine animals such as whales and other cetaceans, seals, walruses, sharks, etc.
    1. Such an implement armed with explosives in the head, used to strike and fatally wound cetaceans when whaling.
      Synonyms: exploding harpoon , explosive harpoon , whaling harpoon
  2. A sharp tip within a disposable syringe, used to penetrate the stopper.
  3. (slang ) A harmonica.

Derived terms

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Translations

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spearlike weapon

Verb

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

  1. (transitive ) To shoot something with a harpoon.
    • 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 176:
      Pilot whales, also known as blackfish, were fairly plentiful, and Mundus would harpoon one or two, haul them out onto the beach, and butcher them.

Derived terms

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Translations

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to hunt with a harpoon

See also

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