whelk

Meaning

Certain edible sea snails, especially, any one of numerous species of large marine gastropods belonging to Buccinidae, much used as food in Europe.

Synonyms

periwinkle

pimple

spot

winkle

small water snails

acne

Buccinidae

water-snail

shellfish type

Translations

buccin

caracol de mar

wulk

kabarcık

sivilce

είδος σπειροειδούς κογχύλιου

φουσκαλίδα

bulot

buccino

Buccinidae

Buccinum undatum

الحلزون البحري

puistje

búzio

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɛlk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: whelke

Inherited from Old English: weoloc

Cognate with Middle Dutch: willoc

Cognate with Dutch: wulk

Inherited from Old English: hwelca

In summary

From Middle English whelke, a variant of welk, from Old English weoloc, wiloc, wioloc, weluc, from Proto-West Germanic *weluk (compare Middle Dutch willoc, Dutch wulk), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, revolve”) (whence vulva and volute). Unetymological spelling with wh- from the 15th century.