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more about fishes
fishes |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fish \Fish\, n.; pl {Fishes}, or collectively, {Fish}. [OE. fisch, fisc, fis, AS fisc; akin to D. visch OS & OHG. fisk, G. fisch, Icel. fiskr, Sw & Dan. fisk, Goth. fisks, L. piscis, Ir iasg. Cf {Piscatorial}. In some cases, such as fish joint, fish plate, this word has prob. been confused with fish, fr F. fichea peg.] 1. A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water. 2. (Zo["o]l.) An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See {Pisces}. Note: The true fishes include the Teleostei (bony fishes), Ganoidei, Dipnoi, and Elasmobranchii or Selachians (sharks and skates). Formerly the leptocardia and Marsipobranciata were also included, but these are now generally regarded as two distinct classes, below the fishes. 3. pl The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces. 4. The flesh of fish, used as food. 5. (Naut.) a A purchase used to fish the anchor. b A piece of timber, somewhat in the form of a fish, used to strengthen a mast or yard. Note: Fish is used adjectively or as part of a compound word as fish line fish pole, fish spear, fish-bellied. {Age of Fishes}. See under {Age}, n., 8. {Fish ball}, fish (usually salted codfish) shared fine, mixed with mashed potato, and made into the form of a small round cake. [U.S.] {Fish bar}. Same as {Fish plate} (below). {Fish beam} (Mech.), a beam one of whose sides (commonly the under one) swells out like the belly of a fish. --Francis. {Fish crow} (Zo["o]l.), a species of crow ({Corvus ossifragus}), found on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It feeds largely on fish. {Fish culture}, the artifical breeding and rearing of fish; pisciculture. {Fish davit}. See {Davit}. {Fish day}, a day on which fish is eaten; a fast day {Fish duck} (Zo["o]l.), any species of merganser. {Fish fall}, the tackle depending from the fish davit, used in hauling up the anchor to the gunwale of a ship. {Fish garth}, a dam or weir in a river for keeping fish or taking them easily. {Fish glue}. See {Isinglass}. {Fish joint}, a joint formed by a plate or pair of plates fastened upon two meeting beams, plates, etc., at their junction; -- used largely in connecting the rails of railroads. {Fish kettle}, a long kettle for boiling fish whole. {Fish ladder}, a dam with a series of steps which fish can leap in order to ascend falls in a river. {Fish line}, or {Fishing line}, a line made of twisted hair, silk, etc., used in angling. {Fish louse} (Zo["o]l.), any crustacean parasitic on fishes, esp. the parasitic Copepoda, belonging to {Caligus}, {Argulus}, and other related genera. See {Branchiura}. {Fish maw} (Zo["o]l.), the stomach of a fish; also the air bladder, or sound. {Fish meal}, fish desiccated and ground fine, for use in soups, etc {Fish oil}, oil obtained from the bodies of fish and marine animals, as whales, seals, sharks, from cods' livers, etc {Fish owl} (Zo["o]l.), a fish-eating owl of the Old World genera {Scotopelia} and {Ketupa}, esp. a large East Indian species ({K. Ceylonensis}). {Fish plate}, one of the plates of a fish joint. {Fish pot}, a wicker basket, sunk, with a float attached, for catching crabs, lobsters, etc {Fish pound}, a net attached to stakes, for entrapping and catching fish; a weir. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett. {Fish slice}, a broad knife for dividing fish at table; a fish trowel. {Fish slide}, an inclined box set in a stream at a small fall, or ripple, to catch fish descending the current. --Knight. {Fish sound}, the air bladder of certain fishes, esp. those that are dried and used as food, or in the arts, as for the preparation of isinglass. {Fish story}, a story which taxes credulity; an extravagant or incredible narration. [Colloq. U.S.] --Bartlett. {Fish strainer}. a A metal colander, with handles, for taking fish from a boiler. b A perforated earthenware slab at the bottom of a dish, to drain the water from a boiled fish. {Fish trowel}, a fish slice. {Fish} {weir or wear}, a weir set in a stream, for catching fish. {Neither fish nor flesh} (Fig.), neither one thing nor the other From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Finch \Finch\, n.; pl {Fishes}. [AS. finc; akin to D. vink, OHG. fincho, G. fink; cf W. pinc a finch; also E. spink.] (Zo["o]l.) A small singing bird of many genera and species, belonging to the family {Fringillid[ae]}. Note: The word is often used in composition, as in chaffinch, goldfinch, grassfinch, pinefinch, etc {Bramble finch}. See {Brambling}. {Canary finch}, the canary bird. {Copper finch}. See {Chaffinch}. {Diamond finch}. See under {Diamond}. {Finch falcon} (Zo["o]l.), one of several very small East Indian falcons of the genus {Hierax}. {To pull a finch}, to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting person. [Obs.] ``Privily a finch eke could he pull.'' --Chaucer. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Crawfish \Craw"fish`\ (kr[add]"f[i^]sh`), Crayfish \Cray"fish`\ (kr[=a]"f[i^]sh`), n.; pl {-fishes} or {-fish}. [Corrupted fr OE crevis, creves, OF crevice, F. ['e]crevisse, fr OHG. krebiz crab, G. krebs. See {Crab}. The ending -fish arose from confusion with E. fish.] (Zo["o]l.) Any crustacean of the family {Astacid[ae]}, resembling the lobster, but smaller, and found in fresh waters. Crawfishes are esteemed very delicate food both in Europe and America. The North American species are numerous and mostly belong to the genus {Cambarus}. The blind crawfish of the Mammoth Cave is {Cambarus pellucidus}. The common European species is {Astacus fluviatilis}.
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