lumpfish

[ luhmp-fish ]

noun

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

1. any of several thick-bodied, sluggish fishes of the family Cyclopteridae, found in northern seas, having the pelvic fins modified and united into a sucking disk, especially Cyclopterus lumpus, of the North Atlantic.

lumpfish

/ ˈlʌmpˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. a North Atlantic scorpaenoid fish, Cyclopterus lumpus, having a globular body covered with tubercles, pelvic fins fused into a sucker, and an edible roe: family Cyclopteridae
2. any other fish of the family Cyclopteridae

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumpfish¹

First recorded in 1735–45; lump ¹ + fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumpfish¹

C16: lump (now obsolete) lumpfish, from Middle Dutch lumpe, perhaps related to lump ¹

Example Sentences

Down went the trap, an up she come: not even a lumpfish or a lobser t grace the labor.

From Project Gutenberg