cockfish

English

Etymology 1

From cock +‎ fish.

Alternative forms

• cock fish, cock-fish

Noun

cockfish (plural cockfish)

1. A male fish, especially a salmon or trout.

   Synonym: cock

   Coordinate terms: hen, henfish

   • 2005, Roderick Sutterby, Malcolm Greenhalgh, “Life in the Nursery”, in Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 23:

     Spawning fish on the redds. A henfish will often be attended by two or three cockfish – whilst displaying ritual combat between themselves, one cock will mate, others may follow [image caption]

2. A callorhinchid fish, Callorhinchus callorynchus, native to South America.

   Synonyms: elephantfish, American elephantfish

   • 1996, Edgardo E. Di Gitlcomo, Maria Raquel Perier, “Feeding habits of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus (Holocephali: Callorhynchidae), in Patagonian waters (Argentina)”, in Marine and Freshwater Research, volume 47, number 6, →DOI, page 801:

     Morphology of the main digestive features of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus, is described and linked to feeding habits. […] The diet of the cockfish is compared with that of other holocephalans.

3. A cyprinid fish, Hypselobarbus dubius, native to India.

   Synonym: Nilgiris barb

Translations

male fish

• Dutch: hommer (nl) m, mannetjesvis m

Etymology 2

Blend of cock (“penis”) +‎ catfish (“(to create) a fake online profile”).

Verb

cockfish (third-person singular simple present cockfishes, present participle cockfishing, simple past and past participle cockfished)

1. (Internet slang, vulgar) To deceive others by using fake photos of one’s genitalia.
   • 2023, Mark Travers, “3 Ways To Not Fall Pray to Online 'Cockfishing', According To a Psychologist”, in Forbes‎^[1]:

     If you’re engaging in a flirtatious conversation with a new acquaintance, be cautious about exchanging explicit photos if you haven’t met them in person to avoid falling for this exploitative technique. Here are three reasons why people “cockfish” and tips to help you protect yourself.

Noun

cockfish (plural cockfishes)

1. (Internet slang, vulgar) A person who cockfishes.
   • 2019, Lucy Devine, “‘Cockfishing’ is the latest misleading dating trend that’s even worse than catfishing”, in The Sun‎^[2]:

     So while a catfish might misrepresent their entire identity - including even stealing photographs from someone else's profile - a cockfish focuses on one specific body part.