From Middle English fisch, from Old English fisċ (“fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *fisk, from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz (“fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *piskós (“fish”). Cognates Cognate with Yola wish (“fish”), North Frisian fasch, fask, Fesk (“fish”), Saterland Frisian Fisk (“fish”), West Frisian fisk (“fish”), Cimbrian biss, visch, viss (“fish”), Dutch vis (“fish”), Dutch Low Saxon and Mòcheno visch (“fish”), German Fisch (“fish”), German Low German Fösch (“fish”), Luxembourgish Fësch (“fish”), Yiddish פֿיש (fish, “fish”), Danish, Elfdalian, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fisk (“fish”), Faroese and Icelandic fiskur (“fish”), Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (fisks, “fish”), Crimean Gothic fisct (“fish”). Compare Irish iasc (“fish”), Latin piscis (“fish”).
A typically cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills; any vertebrate that is not a tetrapod.
Salmon is a fish.
The fishmonger sells fishes from all over the world.
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Ichthyologists study the fish of the world.
We have many fish in our aquarium.
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Any vertebrate, including tetrapods.
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Archaic, Broadly Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water.
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:
Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that the whale is a fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back me.1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
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Archaic, Broadly Now used in combination: (e.g., starfish, cuttlefish, jellyfish, etc).
The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta.
Though Lena is a vegetarian, she doesn't have any problem with eating fish.
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Include low-mercury fish in your diet (such as salmon) and eat at least five servings a day of fruit and vegetables, especially dark leafy greens, broccoli, and cauliflower. Avoid saturated and trans fats, which may hasten brain aging.2012 March, “Flexing your brain”, in Consumer Reports on Health, volume 24, number 3, page 9:
Since the semi-aquatic beaver was a skilled swimmer, the Church declared it to be a fish for dietary purposes.2017 April 7, sjchurchadmin, Saint Joachim Catholic Church:
Throughout the Catholic Church's long history, archbishops and other prominent church leaders have made numerous declarations about which animals can be considered "fish for the purposes of Lent, even if those animals have virtually no similarities to fish in a scientific sense.2023 February 20, William Taylor Potter, The Daily Advertiser:
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During the 17th and 18th centuries, Catholics around the world began to liberally interpret "fish" as any aquatic-based creature, despite blood temperature, and created local meat exceptions that remain in place today.2023 March 9, Jessie Molloy, Tasting Table:
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A card game in which the object is to obtain cards in pairs or sets of four (depending on the variation), by asking the other players for cards of a particular rank.
Nautical, Transport A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace, originally shaped roughly like a fish, used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship.
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, published 2003, page 344:
As we came off patrol we had some torpedoes fired at us by an enemy submarine but we dived out of the way. About April 10 we fired our fish in two salvoes at a convoy.1999, John Winton, The Submariners: Life in British Submarines 1901-1999, page 114:
When a young male enters the prison system he is looked over and is labeled a FISH.1986 April 19, Michael Rathbone, “Tell Someone”, in Gay Community News, page 4:
Him father is a fish so mi know say it's sprat dat2007, “Touch The Road” (track 18), in Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, performed by Mavado (singer):
Bere gunman deh ya we nuh fren fish (hey bwoy)2021 August 4, “Street Cred”performed by Skeng:
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A drag queen or transgender woman who looks like a cisgender woman.
LGBTQ slang; sometimes problematic; LGBTQ slang; sometimes problematic
To hunt fish or other aquatic animals in a body of water, or to collect coral or pearls from the bottom of the sea.
We went fishing for crabs by the pier.
She went to the river to fish for trout.
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19th c., anonymous, "The Bonny Ship the 'Diamond'" It's cheer up, my lads, let your hearts never fail, For the bonny ship the Diamond goes a-fishing for the whale.
Thou hast fished salmon a thousand times, and mightst have taken a lesson.1828, Sir Walter Scott, chapter V, in The Fair Maid of Perth, page 133:
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To search (a body of water) for something other than fish.
They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body.
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Fishing, Hobbies, Lifestyle To use as bait when fishing.
`What you need are frogs,' said the veteran. `Fish them at night. There's nothing like them on big cork floats.'1983, The Fisherman Who Laughed, page 40:
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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.
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To talk to people in an attempt to get them to say something, or seek to obtain something by artifice.
Followed by "for" or "around for"
The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information.
The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.
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Laoctonos is fishing for a compliment, But ’tis his due. Yes, you have drunk more wine, And shed more blood, than any man in Thebes.1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:
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Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it.
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Nautical, Transport To repair (a spar or mast) by fastening a beam or other long object (often called a fish) over the damaged part (see Noun above).
[…] 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, published 1998, page 143:
Found that the cause of the ship's having drifted on the night of the 19th, was from the bight of the chain span (used to fish the anchor,) having slipped between the shank and upper fluke, thereby preventing the lower fluke from opening […]1860, Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, page 214:
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To draw or guide (a wire or cable) by means of fish tape.