fish

fish¹

noun (plural same or fishes)

1》 a limbless cold-blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins, living wholly in water.

    ↘the flesh of fish as food.

2》 used in names of invertebrate animals living wholly in water, e.g. shellfish, jellyfish.

3》 informal a person who is strange in a specified way: he's a cold fish.

verb

1》 catch fish with a net or hook and line.

    ↘fish in (a body of water).

2》 (fish something out) pull or take something out of water or a receptacle.

3》 grope or feel for something concealed.

4》 try subtly to obtain a response or information: I was not fishing for compliments.

Phrases

big fish an important person.

a big fish in a small pond a person who is important only within a limited sphere.

a fish out of water a person who feels out of place in their surroundings.

have other (or bigger) fish to fry have more important matters to attend to.

Derivatives

fishable adjective

fishing noun

Origin

OE fisc (as a noun denoting any animal living exclusively in water), fiscian (v.), of Gmc origin.

Usage

The normal plural of fish is fish (a shoal of fish; he caught two huge fish). The older form fishes is still used when referring to different kinds of fish (freshwater fishes of the British Isles).

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fish²

noun

1》 a flat plate fixed on a beam or across a joint to give additional strength.

2》 a long curved piece of wood lashed to a ship's damaged mast or spar as a temporary repair.

verb

1》 strengthen or mend with a fish.

2》 join (rails) with a fishplate.

Origin

C16: prob. from Fr. fiche, from ficher 'to fix', based on L. figere.