Added 10 October 2026
harpoon
/hɑːɹˈpuːn/ noun
Latin root: harpaga Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about harpoon at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- 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. Such an implement armed with explosives in the head, used to strike and fatally wound cetaceans when whaling.
- Such an implement armed with explosives in the head, used to strike and fatally wound cetaceans when whaling.
- A sharp tip within a disposable syringe, used to penetrate the stopper.
verb
- To shoot something with a harpoon.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)