whelk

English

a whelk shell

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛlk/
• IPA^(key): /hwɛlk/
• Rhymes: -ɛlk

Etymology 1

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

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.

Derived terms

• Asian rapa whelk
• dog whelk
• veined rapa whelk

Translations

edible sea snail of the family Buccinidae

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 峨螺 (zh) (éluó)

• Danish: konk c
• Dutch: wulk (nl)
• Faroese: gágga f
• Finnish: kuningaskotilo
• French: buccin (fr) m, bulot (fr)
• Galician: bucio m, buguina f, cornecho m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Wellhornschnecke (de) f
• Greek: φουσκαλίδα (el) f (fouskalída)
• Icelandic: beitukóngur (is) m
• Irish: faocha choirn f, faocha chapaill f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: エゾバイ (ezobai), ツブ (tsubu)
• Maori: huamutu, kākara
• Portuguese: búzio (pt) m
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: труборо́г m (truboróg), труба́ч (ru) m (trubáč) (моллю́ск)
• Scottish Gaelic: faochag f, cnomhag f, faochan m, cnomhadan m, conach m, faochag-mhór f, cona-bhocan m, conachag f, gobhar-breac m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: во́лак m

  Roman: vólak (sh) m

• Spanish: buccino m
• Swedish: vanlig valthornssnäcka c
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
• West Flemish: wullok m

Etymology 2

From Middle English whelke, from Old English hwelca (“pustule, swelling”).

Noun

whelk (plural whelks)

1. (archaic) Pimple
2. A stripe or mark; a ridge; a wale.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Derived terms

• chin whelk

Further reading

• whelk on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Boccinum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:Boccinidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons