harpoon

Meanings

1. A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
2. A sharp tip within a disposable syringe, used to penetrate the stopper.
3. A harmonica.

1. To shoot something with a harpoon.

Etymology

From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a 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.