fish
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
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[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈfɪʃ/, SAMPA: /fIS/
- (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈfɘʃ/
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Audio (UK) (file) -
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪʃ
- Homophone: ghoti
[edit] Etymology 1
From Old English fisc, from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz (compare West Frisian/Swedish fisk, Dutch vis, German Fisch), from Proto-Indo-European *pik̑sk̑os (compare Irish iasc, Latin piscis, Russian пискарь (piskárĭ) 'groundling', Sanskrit picchā 'calf (leg)', picchila, picchala 'slimy, slippery').
[edit] Noun
fish (collectively (UK) fish or (US) and when referring to two or more kinds fishes or informally fishies)
- (countable) A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
- Salmon is a fish.
- God created all the fishes of the world.
- (collectively) Plural form of fish.
- We have many fish in our aquarium.
- (possibly archaic) Any animal that lives exclusively in water.
- 1774, Oliver Goldsmith, History of the Earth and Animated Nature, Volume IV:
- The whale, the limpet, the tortoise and the oyster… as men have been willing to give them all the name of fishes, it is wisest for us to conform.
- 1774, Oliver Goldsmith, History of the Earth and Animated Nature, Volume IV:
- (uncountable) The flesh of the fish used as food.
- The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta.
- (countable) A period of time spent fishing.
- The fish at the lake didn't prove successful.
- (countable) An instance of seeking something.
- Merely two fishes for information told the whole story.
- (uncountable) A card game in which the object is to obtain pairs of cards.
- (uncountable, derogatory, slang) A woman.
- (slang) An easy victim for swindling.
- (nautical) A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship.
- (nautical) Torpedo
- 1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books (2003), page 344:
- The second and third fish went to the middle of her long superstructure and under her forward deck.
- 1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books (2003), page 344:
- (poker slang) A bad poker player.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from fish (noun)
[edit] Translations
vertebrate animal
collective plural of fish
archaic: any vertebrate that lives in water and cannot live outside it
flesh of fish as food
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period of time spent fishing
instance of seeking something
derogatory slang: woman
slang: easy victim for swindling
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
[edit] See also
[edit] Adjective
fish (not comparable)
[edit] Translations
relating to fish
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[edit] Etymology 2
From Old English fiscian, from Proto-Germanic *fiskōnan.
[edit] Verb
fish (third-person singular simple present fishes, present participle fishing, simple past and past participle fished)
- (intransitive) To try to catch fish, whether successfully or not.
- (transitive) To try to find something other than fish in (a body of water).
- They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body.
- (intransitive) To attempt to find or get hold of an object by searching among other objects.
- Why are you fishing through my things?
- He was fishing for the keys in his pocket.
- (intransitive, followed by "around") To attempt to obtain information by talking to people.
- The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information.
- (intransitive, cricket) Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it.
- (transitive, figuratively, followed by "for") To attempt to gain.
- The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.
- (nautical) To repair a spar or mast using a brace often called a fish (see NOUN above).
- 1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, Wordsworth (1998), page 143:
- […] the crew were set to replacing and splicing the rigging and fishing the spars.
- 1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, Wordsworth (1998), page 143:
[edit] Synonyms
- (try to catch a fish): angle, drop in a line
- (try to find something): rifle, rummage
- (attempt to gain (compliments, etc)): angle
[edit] Derived terms
terms derived from the verb fish
[edit] Translations
intransitive: to try to catch fish
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transitive: to try to findr sthg in a body of water
to attempt to find by searching among other objects
to attempt to obtain information by talking to people
cricket: to attempt to hit outside off stump and miss
[edit] External links
Fish (disambiguation) on Wikipedia. Wikipedia
Fish on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
fish (food) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:fish (food)
fishing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:fishing
Categories:
- Visual dictionary
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English plurals
- English uncountable nouns
- English derogatory terms
- English slang
- en:Nautical
- en:Poker
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English verbs
- en:Cricket
- 1000 English basic words
- English invariant nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Fish
- en:Vertebrates
