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whelk (n.)

marine snail with a spiral shell, Old English weoloc, wioloc, from Proto-Germanic *weluka- (source also of Middle Dutch willoc, Dutch wulk), perhaps from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve;" compare volute). The unetymological spelling with wh- dates from 15c.

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Definitions of whelk from WordNet
1
whelk (n.)
large marine snail much used as food in Europe;
whelk (n.)
large carnivorous marine gastropods of coastal waters and intertidal regions having a strong snail-like shell;
2
whelk (v.)
gather whelk;
From wordnet.princeton.edu