blackfish

[ blak-fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) black·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) black·fish·es.

1. any of various dark-colored fishes, as the tautog, Tautoga onitis, or the black sea bass, Centropristes striata.
2. a small, freshwater food fish, Dallia pectoralis, found in Alaska and Siberia, noted for its ability to survive frozen in ice.
3. black whale.

blackfish

/ ˈblækˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. a minnow-like Alaskan freshwater fish, Dallia pectoralis , related to the pikes and thought to be able to survive prolonged freezing
2. a female salmon that has recently spawned Compare redfish
3. any of various other dark fishes, esp the luderick, a common edible Australian estuary fish
4. another name for pilot whale

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackfish¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1680–90; black + fish

Example Sentences

Spiny-finned sea robin, blackfish and wayward angelfish swim in the murky ocean tinted green by sheets of algae.

From Seattle Times

Fishermen reviled the “blackfish” as competition for salmon and sometimes shot them.

From Seattle Times

The restaurant, on 43rd Street near Ninth Avenue, famously introduced many New Yorkers to crudo, the Italian-style raw seafood preparation, and to countless previously obscure fish species, like blackfish, scorpionfish and porgy.

From New York Times

I will wade across the river of the blackfish, the otter, the beaver.

From Literature

She’ll be charring chicories and cauliflower, grilling carrots, roasting blackfish and oysters, and baking beans in the embers, all parts of dishes listed on the menu.

From New York Times