Silurus Ichth.
(sɪˈljʊərəs)
Pl. Siluri.
[a. L. silurus, a. Gr. σίλουρος. Cf. silure.]
A genus of fish typical of the family Siluridæ; (also with lower-case initial) a fish belonging to this genus, esp. the sly silurus (S. glanis) or sheat-fish, one of the largest fresh-water fishes of Europe.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 243 As for the Silurus, a cut-throat he is wheresoeuer he goeth, a great deuourer. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. iii. i. (1862) II. 299 The Silurus or Sheath-fish. 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 403 The Sly Silurus, Silurus glanis. 1840 tr. Cuvier's Anim. Kingdom 317 Their flesh is less disagreeable than that of the other Siluri. 1865 Spectator 14 Jan. 50 It is said that the silurus, when the prey is plentiful, will attain over 56 lb. in four years. |