Adjacent Words

catfish definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States; often farmed [syn: catfish, mudcat]
2: large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins [syn: wolffish, wolf fish, catfish]
3: any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around the mouth [syn: catfish, siluriform fish]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1612 any of an order (Siluriformes) of chiefly freshwater stout-bodied scaleless bony fishes having long tactile barbels

Britannica Concise

Any of about 2,500 species of scale-less, mostly freshwater, fishes (order Siluriformes) related to carp and minnows and named for their whiskerlike barbels (fleshy feelers). All species have at least one pair of barbels on the upper jaw, and some have a pair on the snout and additional pairs on the chin. Many species possess spines that may be associated with venom glands. Found almost worldwide, they are generally bottom-dwelling scavengers that feed on almost any kind of plant or animal matter. Species vary from 1.5 in. to 15 ft (4 cm-4.5 m) long and may weigh up to 660 lbs (300 kg). Many small species are popular aquarium fishes; many large species are used for food.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. any of various esp. freshwater fish, usu. having whisker-like barbels round the mouth.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wolf Wolf, n.; pl. Wolves. [OE. wolf, wulf, AS. wulf; akin to OS. wulf, D. & G. wolf, Icel. [=u]lfr, Sw. ulf, Dan. ulv, Goth. wulfs, Lith. vilkas, Russ. volk', L. lupus, Gr. ly`kos, Skr. v[.r]ka; also to Gr. "e`lkein to draw, drag, tear in pieces. [root]286. Cf. Lupine, a., Lyceum.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf (Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf (C. occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man. 2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larv[ae] of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf. 3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door. 4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries. 5. An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. Lupus. [Obs.] If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side. --Jer. Taylor. 6. (Mus.) (a) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament. (b) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale. 7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. --Knight. Black wolf. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees. (b) A black variety of the American gray wolf. Golden wolf (Zo["o]l.), the Thibetan wolf (Canis laniger); -- called also chanco. Indian wolf (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic wolf (Canis pallipes) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also landgak. Prairie wolf (Zo["o]l.), the coyote. Sea wolf. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary. Strand wolf (Zo["o]l.) the striped hyena. Tasmanian wolf (Zo["o]l.), the zebra wolf. Tiger wolf (Zo["o]l.), the spotted hyena. To keep the wolf from the door, to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See Wolf, 3, above. --Tennyson. Wolf dog. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog. (b) The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves. (c) A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog. Wolf eel (Zo["o]l.), a wolf fish. Wolf fish (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus Anarrhichas, especially the common species (A. lupus) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also catfish, sea cat, sea wolf, stone biter, and swinefish. Wolf net, a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish. Wolf's peach (Bot.), the tomato, or love apple (Lycopersicum esculentum). Wolf spider (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus Lycosa, or family Lycosid[ae]. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App. Zebra wolf (Zo["o]l.), a savage carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) native of Tasmania; -- called also Tasmanian wolf.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bullhead Bull"head`, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A fresh-water fish of many species, of the genus Uranidea, esp. U. gobio of Europe, and U. Richardsoni of the United States; -- called also miller's thumb. (b) In America, several species of Amiurus; -- called also catfish, horned pout, and bullpout. (c) A marine fish of the genus Cottus; the sculpin. 2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The black-bellied plover (Squatarola helvetica); -- called also beetlehead. (b) The golden plover. 3. A stupid fellow; a lubber. [Colloq.] --Jonson. 4. (Zo["o]l.) A small black water insect. --E. Phillips. Bullhead whiting (Zo["o]l.), the kingfish of Florida (Menticirrus alburnus).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Catfish Cat"fish`, n. (Zo["o]l.) A name given in the United States to various species of siluroid fishes; as, the yellow cat (Amiurus natalis); the bind cat (Gronias nigrilabrus); the mud cat (Pilodictic oilwaris), the stone cat (Noturus flavus); the sea cat (Arius felis), etc. This name is also sometimes applied to the wolf fish. See Bullhrad.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(catfish) Catfish are a type of fish that have long thin spines around their mouths. N-VAR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Horn-pout, mud-pout, bull-head (Pimelodus cattus). 2. Wolf-fish (Anarrhicas lupus).