Old English hwelp 'pup, wolf cub', from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz
(compare Dutch welp, obsolete German Welf, Danish hvalp), from
pre-Germanic *kʷelbos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelbhos
(compare Old Church Slavonic жрѣбѧ (žrěbę) 'foal', Latin vulva,
bolva, volba 'womb', Ancient Greek βρέφος (bréphos) 'fœtus,
newborn', Hittite huēlpi 'overipe, fresh; newborn animal',
Sanskrit उल्ब (úlba, úlva) 'womb'). whelp (plural whelps) - A
young offspring of a canid (ursid, felid, pinniped), especially
of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion,
tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub. - (derogatory) An insolent youth;
a mere child. - That awkward whelp with his money bags would
have made his entrance. - (obsolete) A kind of ship. - One of
several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a
clipper-era ship. - A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare
sprocket, def. 2; cog, def. 1). Derived terms  - fox whelp, fox-
whelp, fox's whelp (foxling) - (Newfoundland) whelping ice -
wolf whelp, wolf-whelp, wolf's whelp S