whelky


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whelk 1

(wĕlk, hwĕlk)
n.
Any of various large marine carnivorous snails chiefly of the family Buccinidae, having a pointed spiral shell, especially the edible species Buccinum undatum of the North Atlantic Ocean.

[Middle English welke, whelke, from Old English weoloc; see wel- in Indo-European roots.]

whelk 2

(wĕlk, hwĕlk)
n.
An inflamed swelling, such as a pimple or pustule.

[Middle English whelke, from Old English hwylca; akin to hwelian, to suppurate.]

whelk′y adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.