† ˈpot-fish Obs.
Also pott-.
[ad. Du. potvisch, in Ger. pottfisch, Da., Swed. potfisk; the first element being perh. the same as in obs. Du. potshoofd thick-head (Kilian), Flem. potshoofd an eel-pout, in reference to the huge head of this whale.]
The cachalot or spermaceti whale.
| 1743 Phil. Trans. XLII. 611 In these Seas are Cachelots or Pot-fish, a sort of Whales, their Length 50 to 70 Feet. 1799 W. Tooke View Russian Emp. III. 105 The Frozen Ocean..teems with the narhwal, the pott-fish, from whose brain spermaceti is prepared. |