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| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
"Of all diversions ... fishing is the worst qualified to amuse a man who is at once indolent and impatient." [Scott, 1814]Fish story attested from 1819, from the tendency to exaggerate the size of the catch (or the one that got away). Fishtail (v.), of vehicles, first recorded 1927. Figurative sense of fish out of water first recorded 1610s.
fish (fĭsh) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) Plural fish or fishes Any of numerous cold-blooded vertebrate animals that live in water. Fish have gills for obtaining oxygen, a lateral line for sensing pressure changes in the water, and a vertical tail. Most fish are covered with scales and have limbs in the form of fins. Fish were once classified together as a single group, but are now known to compose numerous evolutionarily distinct classes, including the bony fish, cartilaginous fish, jawless fish, lobe-finned fish, and placoderms. |
Traditionally, a class of vertebrates that breathe with gills rather than lungs, live in water, and generally lay eggs, although some bear their young alive. Some biologists consider the fishes a “superclass,” and divide them into three classes: bony fishes, such as sunfish and cod; fishes with a skeleton formed of cartilage rather than bone, such as sharks; and fishes that lack jaws, such as lampreys.
Note: Fishes are cold-blooded animals.
fish definition
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