bitterling

[ bit-er-ling ]

noun

1. a cyprinid fish, Rhodeus sericeus, found in central and eastern Europe, the female of which has a long, bright yellow or red ovipositor to deposit eggs in the mantle cavity of mussels.

bitterling

/ ˈbɪtəlɪŋ /

noun

1. a small brightly coloured European freshwater cyprinid fish, Rhodeus sericeus : a popular aquarium fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of bitterling¹

1875–80; < German, equivalent to bitter bitter + -ling -ling ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bitterling¹

C19: from German; see bitter + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Although, one of my beloved characters in “Vernon, Florida,” my philosopher in the swamp, Albert Bitterling—he said to me, “Errol, you know, you don’t break the rules. The rules break you.”

From The New Yorker

When the urine of an occasional nonpregnant woman was discovered to be stimulating to the bitterling, experimenters admitted themselves bewildered.

From Time Magazine Archive

A. B. M. R. F.'s conclusion: Subsequently the Chicago obstetricians discovered that male urine also caused the bitterling to project her ovipositor.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bitterling lost her standing and the doe rabbit and mouse were reinstated as nature's best indicators of human pregnancy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Unexpectedly, extract of the cortices of adrenal glands stimulated the bitterling precisely the way ovarian hormones did.

From Time Magazine Archive