harpoon

Meanings

Noun

• A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
• A harmonica.

Verb

• To shoot something with a harpoon.

Origin

• From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη, from ἁρπάζω. Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch harpoen. harpagon.