Harpoon gun

Harpoon gun
Harpoon Har*poon" (h[aum]r*p[=oo]n"), n. [F. harpon, LL. harpo, perh. of Ger. origin, fr. the harp; cf. F. harper to take and grasp strongly, harpe a dog's claw, harpin boathook (the sense of hook coming from the shape of the harp); but cf. also Gr. "a`rph the kite, sickle, and E. harpy. Cf. {Harp}.] A spear or javelin used to strike and kill large fish, as whales; a harping iron. It consists of a long shank, with a broad, flat, triangular head, sharpened at both edges, and is thrown by hand, or discharged from a gun. [1913 Webster]

{Harpoon fork}, a kind of hayfork, consisting of a bar with hinged barbs at one end and a loop for a rope at the other end, used for lifting hay from the load by horse power.

{Harpoon gun}, a gun used in the whale fishery for shooting the harpoon into a whale. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • harpoon-gun — harpoonˈ gun noun • • • Main Entry: ↑harpoon …   Useful english dictionary

  • harpoon gun — noun a cannon or similar gun that fires harpoons • Hypernyms: ↑cannon …   Useful english dictionary

  • harpoon gun — a small cannon for shooting harpoons. [1810 20] * * * …   Universalium

  • harpoon gun — n. barbed spear attached to a rope (used in hunting whales and large fish) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Harpoon — Har*poon (h[aum]r*p[=oo]n ), n. [F. harpon, LL. harpo, perh. of Ger. origin, fr. the harp; cf. F. harper to take and grasp strongly, harpe a dog s claw, harpin boathook (the sense of hook coming from the shape of the harp); but cf. also Gr. a rph …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Harpoon fork — Harpoon Har*poon (h[aum]r*p[=oo]n ), n. [F. harpon, LL. harpo, perh. of Ger. origin, fr. the harp; cf. F. harper to take and grasp strongly, harpe a dog s claw, harpin boathook (the sense of hook coming from the shape of the harp); but cf. also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • harpoon — n. & v. n. a barbed spearlike missile with a rope attached, for catching whales etc. v.tr. spear with a harpoon. Phrases and idioms: harpoon gun a gun for firing a harpoon. Derivatives: harpooner n. Etymology: F harpon f. harpe clamp f. L harpa f …   Useful english dictionary

  • gun — Synonyms and related words: AA gun, Armstrong, BAR, BB gun, Benet Mercie, Beretta, Big Bertha, Bren, Bren gun, Browning, Cain, Colt, Garand, Garand rifle, Garling, Gatling, Gatling gun, Hotchkiss, Krupp, Lancaster, Lee Enfield, Lee Metford, Lewis …   Moby Thesaurus

  • harpoon — ► NOUN ▪ a barbed spear like missile attached to a long rope and thrown by hand or fired from a gun, used for catching whales and other large sea creatures. ► VERB ▪ spear with a harpoon. DERIVATIVES harpooner noun. ORIGIN French harpon, from… …   English terms dictionary

  • Harpoon — A harpoon is a long spear like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or other large aquatic animals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, with the fishermen then using the a rope or chain attached to the butt …   Wikipedia

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