whelk

English

a whelk shell

Etymology

From Middle English whelke, a variant of Middle English welke, from Old English weoloc, wiloc, wioloc, weluc, from Proto-Germanic *welukaz (“snail”) (compare Middle Dutch willoc, Dutch wulk), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn, revolve”) (whence vulva and volute) Spelling wh- from 15th century.[1]

Noun

whelk (plural whelks)

  1. Certain edible sea snails, especially, any one of numerous species of large marine gastropods belonging to Buccinidae, much used as food in Europe.
  2. A stripe or mark; a ridge; a wale.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ↑ “whelk” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.

Further reading

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