whelpen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• welpen
• hweolpen (Early Middle English)
• wellpenn (Ormulum)

Etymology

From Old English hwelpian; equivalent to whelp +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhwɛlpən/
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /ˈwɛlpən/, /ˈxwɛlpən/

Verb

whelpen

1. (referring to animals) To give birth; to bear a litter or whelp.

Conjugation

Conjugation of whelpen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) whelpen, whelpe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	whelpe	whelped
2nd-person singular	whelpest	whelpedest
3rd-person singular	whelpeth	whelped
subjunctive singular	whelpe
imperative singular		—
plural1	whelpen, whelpe	whelpeden, whelpede
imperative plural	whelpeth, whelpe	—
participles	whelpynge, whelpende	whelped, ywhelped

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: whelp

References

• “whelpen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 September 2018.