harpoon

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

• (General American) enPR: härpo͞onʹ, IPA^(key): /hɑːɹˈpuːn/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: härpo͞onʹ, IPA^(key): /hɑːˈpuːn/
• Rhymes: -uːn
• Hyphenation: har‧poon

Noun

harpoon (plural harpoons)

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

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.

See also

• spear