dragonet

[ drag-uh-net, drag-uh-nit ]

noun

1. any fish of the genus Callionymus, the species of which are small and usually brightly colored.

dragonet

/ ˈdræɡənɪt /

noun

1. any small spiny-finned fish of the family Callionymidae, having a flat head and a slender tapering brightly coloured body and living at the bottom of shallow seas

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragonet¹

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French; dragon, -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragonet¹

C14 (meaning: small dragon): from French; applied to fish C18

Example Sentences

Half in a dream he wandered forward to the riverward side of the tree, where great winding roots grew out into the stream, like gnarled dragonets straining down to drink.

From Literature

A pair of mandarin dragonet at sunset in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and a nearby coral reef.

From BBC

The female, or sordid dragonet, was considered by Linnæus and by many subsequent naturalists as a distinct species; it is of a dingy reddish-brown, with the dorsal fin brown and the other fins white.

From Project Gutenberg

The gem-like colours of the male dragonet, the butterfly wings of certain gurnards, and the decorated tails of some exotic carps all point in the same direction.

From Project Gutenberg

As to the dragonet, he stuck out his nose, fixed his eyes, and fell a-thinking.

From Project Gutenberg