Nearby Words

lungfish

[luhng-fish]

lung·fish

[luhng-fish]
noun, plural (especially collectively) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish·es.
any of various slender, air-breathing fishes of the order (or subclass) Dipnoi, of rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia, having a lunglike air bladder as well as gills and growing to a length of 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters).

Origin:
1880–85; lung + fish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Lungfish is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
lungfish (ˈlʌŋˌfɪʃ)
 
n , pl -fish, -fishes
any freshwater bony fish of the subclass Dipnoi, having an air-breathing lung, fleshy paired fins, and an elongated body. The only living species are those of the genera Lepidosiren of South America, Protopterus of Africa, and Neoceratodus of Australia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
lungfish   (lŭng'fĭsh')  Pronunciation Key 


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Any of several tropical freshwater fish of the order or subclass Dipnoi that, in addition to having gills, have lunglike organs for breathing air. Lungfish have a long, narrow body, and certain species can survive periods of drought inside a mucus-lined cocoon in the mud. The lungfish and the coelacanths are the only living lobe-finned fishes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

lungfish

any of six species (three species according to some authorities) of air-breathing fishes placed with a number of extinct forms in the subclass Dipnoi (order Dipnoi of some authorities). The Dipnoi first appeared in the Lower Devonian Period (about 370,000,000-395,000,000 years ago). The extant species occur in rivers and lakes in Africa, South America, and Australia. They are especially interesting because of their characteristic body forms, their generally large size, their erratic distribution over the tropical regions of the earth, and their peculiar mode of life.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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