Etymology Dictionary

HARPOON,  a dart for striking whales.  (Du.,—F.)   'Some fish with harpons' (late edd. harpoons), Dryden, Art of Love, 875.   The dart is also called 'a harping-iron.'   Harpon is the F., harpoon the Du. form.—Du. harpoen (pron. like E. harpoon), 'a harping-iron;' Sewel.—F. harpon, orig. 'a crampiron wherewith masons fasten stones together' (Cotgrave); hence, a grappling-iron.—O.F. harpe, 'a dog's claw or paw;' Cot.; cf. 'se harper ľvn à ľautre, to grapple, grasp, hasp, clasp, imbrace, cope, close together, to scuffle or fall together by the ears;' id.   Cf. Span. arpon, a harpoon, arpeo, a grappling-iron, arpar, to tear to pieces, rend, claw.   Also Ital. arpagone, a harpoon, arpese, a cramp-iron, clamp, arpicare, to clamber up, arpino, a hook, arpione, a hinge, pivot, hook, tenter.   β. The notion of 'grappling' seems to underlie all these words; but the origin is by no means clear; Littré cites an O.H.G. harfan, to seize, which Scheler spells hrepan; this seems to be nothing but mod. G. raffen, to snatch up; and I doubt its being the true source.   γ. Surely the Ital. arpagone is nothing but the Lat. acc. harpagonem; I suppose the base harp- to be no other than that which appears in Lat. harpago, a hook, grappling-iron, harpaga, a hook, and harpax, rapacious; all words borrowed from Gk.; cf. Gk. ἁρπαγή, a hook, rake, ἅρπαξ, rapacious, ἅρπη, a bird of prey, all from the base ΑΡΠ in ἁρπάζειν, to snatch, tear, ravish away; the true form of the root being RAP, as in Lat. rapere, to seize.   See Harpy.   ¶ Diez identifies F. harpe, a dog's claw, with F. harpe, a harp, on the plea that the harp was probably 'hook-shaped;' of which there is no proof.   Der. harpoon-er.