harpoon

Etymology

From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη (harpágē, “hook”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch away, to carry off, to seize, to captivate”). Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch harpoen (“harpoon”). Doublet of harpagon.

noun

1. A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
2. (slang) A harmonica.
   I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana. 1969, Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster (lyrics and music), “Me and Bobby McGee”

verb

1. (transitive) To shoot something with a harpoon.
   Pilot whales, also known as blackfish, were fairly plentiful, and Mundus would harpoon one or two, haul them out onto the beach, and butcher them. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, page 176