Whelk

Pronunciation: /hwɛlk/

Definitions of whelk

noun a type of large marine snail with a spiral shell, often used for food or decoration

Example Sentences

A1 I found a whelk shell on the beach.

A2 The children collected whelks in their buckets.

B1 The whelk population has been declining in recent years.

B2 She studied the anatomy of a whelk for her marine biology project.

C1 The chef prepared a delicious dish using fresh whelks.

C2 The marine biologist conducted research on the behavior of whelks in their natural habitat.

Examples of whelk in a Sentence

formal The marine biologist studied the behavior of the whelk in its natural habitat.

informal I found a cool whelk shell on the beach today.

slang Check out the size of that whelk I caught while fishing!

figurative Her thoughts swirled around in her mind like a whelk in turbulent waters.

Grammatical Forms of whelk

• past tense: whelked
• plural: whelks
• comparative: more whelk
• superlative: most whelk
• present tense: whelk
• future tense: will whelk
• perfect tense: have whelked
• continuous tense: is whelking
• singular: whelk
• positive degree: whelk
• infinitive: to whelk
• gerund: whelking
• participle: whelking

Origin and Evolution of whelk

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'whelk' originated from Middle English 'welke' or 'welk', which came from Old English 'weoloc' or 'weolocan' meaning a spiral-shelled mollusk.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'whelk' has retained its original meaning as a type of sea snail with a spiral shell. However, it is now also commonly used to refer to the edible marine gastropod mollusk of the family Buccinidae.