A young puppy, or sometimes a young child, especially one that seems wild, poorly behaved, or needs training.
From Old English 'hwelp' and Old Norse 'hvelpr,' related to Germanic words for young animals. The word has been used since around 1000 CE and originally referred to the offspring of carnivorous animals.
The word 'whelp' appears in medieval texts to describe young knights who still needed training—calling someone a 'whelp' was basically saying 'you're still just a puppy pretending to be a dog.'
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