▪ I. fish, n.1
(fɪʃ)
Forms: 1–2 fisc, 3 Orm. fissk, 3–4 fis(s(e, fix, (4 fizs), south. viss, vyss, 3–5 fich, 5–6 fych(e, 3–5 fissh(e, (3 fishsh, fischsch), 4–6 fysch(e, -ssh(e, (6 fiszsh), 5–6 fysh(e, 4–6 fishe, 3– fish.
[Com. Teut.; OE. fisc. str. masc. = OFris. fisk, OS. fisc (Du. visch), OHG. fisc (MHG. visch, Ger. fisch), ON. fiskr (Sw. and Da. fisk), Goth. fisks:—OTeut. *fisko-z:—pre-Teut. *pisko-s, cogn. with L. piscis and OIr. iasc (:—*peiskos).]
I. 1. a. In popular language, any animal living exclusively in the water; primarily denoting vertebrate animals provided with fins and destitute of limbs; but extended to include various cetaceans, crustaceans, molluscs, etc. In modern scientific language (to which popular usage now tends to approximate) restricted to a class of vertebrate animals, provided with gills throughout life, and cold-blooded; the limbs, if present, are modified into fins, and supplemented by unpaired median fins.
Except in the compound shell-fish, the word is no longer commonly applied in educated use to invertebrate animals.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter viii. 9 Fuglas heofenes & fiscas saes. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Alle þe fiscas þe swummen in þere se. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Fishshes and fugeles. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 160 God made..ilc fuel and euerilc fis. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 10/302 A fair ȝwater with grete fischsches. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 180 A Monk, whan he is recchelees, Is likned til a fissh þat is waterlees. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 205 Fysshes alle blacke. 1535 Coverdale 1 Kings iv. 33 He talked..of foules, of wormes, of fiszshes. 1653 Walton Angler 179 He [the Pearch] is one of the fishes of prey. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iii. i. (1723) 153 Whales..and other great Fishes. 1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade 334 Shells of Fishes, known by the Name of Cowries. 1726 Gay Fables i. iv. 37 The Fishes..skim beneath the main. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 3 The whale, the limpet, the tortoise and the oyster..as men have been willing to give them all the name of fishes, it is wisest for us to conform. 1842 H. Miller O.R. Sandst. iii. (ed. 2) 68 Fishes seem to have been the master existences of five succeeding formations, ere the age of reptiles began. |
b. collect. sing. used for pl.| a 1300 Cursor M. 9395 (Cott.), Foghul and fiche, grett thing and small. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiii. 57 Criste..filled þaire nettes full of fisch. 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij a, A scoll of ffysh. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (1852) 48 Herrynge and other fyche that was tane on the see. 1563 Myrr. Mag., Somerset xxiii, For the fyshe casting forth his net. 1611 Bible Num. xi. 22 Shal all the fish of the sea bee gathered together for them? 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 401 Fish..with thir Finns and shining Scales Glide under the green Wave. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xxi. 136 Let the Fish surround Thy bloated Corse. 1780 Cowper Let. to Mrs. Newton 2 June, When I write to you, you answer me in fish. I return you many thanks for the mackerel and lobster. 1802–3 tr. Pallas' Trav. (1812) II. 132 Such port is frequented by fish of passage. 1808 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. v. 384 Herrings..mackerel, cod-fish, whitings, hadocks, and some others, may with propriety be called fish of passage. |
c. phr. a nice or pretty kettle of fish (
colloq.): an awkward state of things, a ‘muddle’.
to be or feel like a fish out of water: to be or feel out of one's element.
drunk (dull, mute) as a fish: very drunk (etc.).
to drink like a fish: to drink excessively.
to feed the fishes: (
a) to meet one's death by drowning; (
b) to be sea-sick.
all is fish that comes to or † in (his) net:
i.e. nothing comes amiss to him, he turns everything to account.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxvi. 727 Suche as came after toke all..for all was fysshe that came to net. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage vi. xii. 636 The Arabians out of the desarts are as Fishes out of the Water. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 48 All's fish that comes in net. 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 7 He is as mute as a fish. 1700 Congreve Way of World iv. ix, Thou art both as drunk and as mute as a fish. 1744 Gray Let. 26 Apr. in Wks. (1807) II. 35 Mr. Trollope and I are in a course of Tar-water;..I drink like a Fish. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) Ggg ij, To cruise as a pirate; to make all fish that comes to the net. 1821 J. G. Lockhart Let. 13 July, He..drinks like a fish. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xi, You're as mute as a fish. 1837 Hood Drinking Song xi, He's the..drinker that verily ‘drinks like a fish!’ 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 228 Being a commission agent, it is all fish that comes to my net. 1870 H. Meade Ride N. Zealand 313 His first act was to appease the fishes..by feeding them most liberally. 1879 [see drink v.1 11 a]. 1886 Baring Gould Court Royal vi, The lawyer..was as a fish out of water here. 1889 Bridges Feast of Bacchus iv, And there you stand, As dull as a fish! 1937 A. J. Cronin Citadel i. ii. 19, I better anticipate the gay tidings—I drink like a fish. |
d. In other proverbial expressions.
| 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1562) D ij b, Fishe is caste awaie that is cast in drie pooles. a 1625 Fletcher Mons. Thomas i. iii, No swearing; He'll catch no fish else. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. i. 117/2 The Prouerbe sayes, If you sweare you shall catch no fish. 1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 29 3/2 'Tis good Fish, if it were but Caught. 1857 Trollope Three Clerks xvi, There were still as good fish in the sea as had ever yet been caught out of it. |
† e. in the quasi-oath
God's fish! (more commonly odds-fish).
| c 1728 Earl of Ailesbury Mem. 649 Gods fish! when two rogues fall out, their master then is like to know the truth. |
f. Applied to the turtle.
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 3/1 The sea round about the West Indies is the happiest hunting-ground for green turtle. The fish (the dealers describe them as fish) are usually taken in the manner described. 1908 Daily Chron. 6 Nov. 7/3 The ‘fish’, as they are called in the trade, are probably as tenacious of life as any animal. |
g. U.S. slang. A dollar.
| 1920 Collier's 5 June 44/4, I..shoved my way Through the howlin' mob on the en route to the box office To collect our four hundred fish. 1934 Wodehouse Thank you, Jeeves xii. 168 She was heiress to a sum amounting to more than fifty million fish. 1949 N. Algren Man with Golden Arm 11 Used to get fifteen fish for an exhibition of six-no-count. |
h. Naut. slang. (In full
tin fish.) A torpedo; also, a submarine.
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 282 A tin fish, a torpedo. 1928 Papers Mich. Acad. Sci. & Arts X. 293 Fish, torpedo;..submarine. 1943 Penguin New Writing XVI. 19 The air seemed full of falling bombs, and tinfish like carelessly dropped cigarettes splashed among the crowded ships. 1946 R. Harling Steep Atlantick Stream ii. 29 They do say the old QM's had a tin-fish under her tail. 1967 B. Knox Blacklight i. 16 The Navy didn't like losing a torpedo... Each ‘fish’ represented some {pstlg}3,000 in cash. |
2. In combination with various qualifying words, as
lantern-,
lump-,
monk-,
pipe-,
rock-,
toad-,
whistle-,
wolf-: see those words.
blubber-fish, fish yielding blubber, as the whale, porpoise, etc.
royal-fish, also
fish-royal (see
quots.). Also angel-, flat-, flying-, gold-, jelly-, shell-,
sun-, sword-fish.
| 1756 R. Rolt Dict. Trade & Comm., Royal fish, are dolphins and sturgeans; as also in France, are salmon and trout; so called, because they belong to the King, when cast upon the sea-shore..Blubber-fish are whales, porpoises, tunnies, sea-calves, and other fat fish. |
| 1776 Customs Manor of Epworth in Stonehouse Axholme (1839) 145 When any *fish royal be taken in the river of Trent, within this Manor..it belongs to the Lord of the Manor. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Royal Fish, whale and sturgeon. |
3. a. Applied
fig. to a person (also
collect. to persons) whom it is desirable to ‘catch’ or ‘hook’.
| 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 116 The subtle devil..found us proper fish for her hook. 1753 Foote Eng. in Paris ii. Wks. 1799 I. 42 The fish [a rich young booby] is hook'd. 1885 Boy's Own Paper 5 Sept. 771/1 People would think he was an easy fish to catch. |
b. Used (with prefixed
adj.) unceremoniously for ‘person’.
| 1750 Coventry Pompey Litt. ii. ix. (1785) 67/2 They..smoaked him for a queer fish, as the phrase is. 1771 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1887 I. 137 He was an odd fish. 1820 Lamb Elia, South-Sea-House, Humourists, for they were of all descriptions..Odd fishes. 1831 Examiner 395/2 The lady, who was a ‘loose fish,’ became acquainted with him. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. (1882) 19/2 The queerest, coolest fish in Rugby. 1871 J. H. Banka State Prison Life iv. 60 ‘Fresh fish’ is the name applied to all newcomers. 1920 F. Scott Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. i. 36 I'm tired of being nice to every poor fish in school. 1930 A. Christie Murder at Vicarage x. 79 Well—of all the poor fish! If I'd committed a murder, I wouldn't go straight off and give myself up. 1958 Listener 9 Oct. 568/1 The old man is revealed as having been a very cold fish. |
4. a. The flesh of fish,
esp. as used for food; opposed to
flesh,
i.e. the flesh of land-animals, and
fowl, that of birds.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13502 (Gött.) Þis bred and fisse was delt abute. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 159 Hij eteþ more fisch þan flesh. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxvi. (1495) 461 Female fysshes ben more longe than male fysshes and haue more harde fysshe. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 60 Salt fisch. c 1460 Lydg. & Burgh Secrees 1653 In etyng of ffyssh make no contynuaunces. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 232 Ships..furnished with Bisket..freshe Water, salt Fishe. 1650 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. (ed. 2) iii. xxv. 143 We mortifie ourselves with the diet of fish. 1756 R. Rolt Dict. Trade & Comm., Green Fish is that which is just salted, and yet moist. 1768 Travis in Pennant Zool. (1777) IV. 12 The fish of a Lobster's claw is more tender, delicate, and easy of digestion than that of the tail. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 288 Fish forms a powerful manure. |
b. Meat having the qualities of fish.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 444 The taile of a Beaver is fish, but the taile of an Otter is flesh. |
c. phr. neither fish nor flesh (nor good red herring), also
neither fish, flesh, nor fowl:
i.e. neither one thing nor another; without the particular qualities (or merits) of either.
to have other fish to fry: to have other business to attend to.
to make fish of one and flesh (or fowl) of another: to make an invidious distinction; to show partiality.
to cry stinking fish: see
cry v. 5 b.
| 1528 Rede me & be nott wrothe I iij b, Wone that is nether flesshe nor fisshe. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1562) C ij b, She is nother fyshe nor fleshe, nor good red hearyng. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 144. 1600 Holland Livy xxiv. xlv. (1609) 540 He had the party himselfe in jelousie and suspition, as one neither fish nor flesh, a man of no credit. 1660 Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 132, I fear he hath other fish to fry. 1682 Dryden Duke of Guise Epilogue 40 Damned neuters, in their middle way of steering, Are neither fish nor flesh nor good red-herring. 1721 J. Kelly Sc. Prov. 220, I will not make Fish of one, and Flesh of another. 1885 Manch. Exam. 21 May 5/2 This is making fish of one and fowl of another with a vengeance. 1889 Mrs. Oliphant Poor Gent. xliv, ‘I've got other things in hand..I've got other fish to fry’. |
5. Astron. a. the Fish or Fishes (L.
Pisces), a zodiacal constellation, situated between Aquarius and Aries.
b. the Southern († South) Fish (L.
Piscis australis, anciently
Piscis notius major), a southern constellation, bounded on the north by Capricorn and Aquarius.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 265 Now dauncen lusty Venus children dere, For in the fyssh her lady sat ful hye. 1551 Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 267 Laste of the 12 signes commeth the Fyshes. Ibid. 271 The Southe fyshe, containynge 12 starres. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 6. General relations:
a. simple
attrib. (sense 1), as
fish-bone,
fish-bowl,
fish-egg,
fish-guts,
fish-haunt,
fish-shell,
fish-skin,
fish-spawn; (sense 4), as
fish-dinner,
fish-meal,
fish tea.
| 1530 Palsgr. 220/2 *Fysshebonne, areste. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Heb. xiii. 1 Fish-bones..in the dark make a bright lustre. 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) I. 228 The points of these lances are sometimes made of fish-bone. |
| 1906 S. W. Bushell Chinese Art II. viii. 32 A large garden *fish-bowl..is decorated in the usual style with enamel colours. 1964 Listener 23 Apr. 682/1 The Chinese made their fishbowls out of porcelain. |
| 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. Introd., Before the eating of a *fish-dinner, the body is not to be heated with exercise. a 1680 Evelyn Diary c Feb. an. 1646 (1955) II. 474 The famous Anna Rencha, whom we invited to a Fishdinner, after 4 daies in Lent. |
| 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest Sea (1873) 66 The collection and distribution of *fish-eggs. |
| 1768 Travis in Pennant Zool. (1777) IV. 12 The bait is commonly *fish-guts tied to the bottom and middle of the net. |
| 1833 J. Rennie Alph. Angling 50 The angler..must find these *fish-haunts. |
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 99 Making many *Fish-meales, they fall into a kind of Male Greene-sicknesse. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 307 The said hairs burnt in some earthen pan or *fish-shell. |
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 366 They are impregnated in the manner of *fish-spawn. |
| 1930 Daily Express 16 Aug. 8/7 If there is any Guards officer who is forced to indulge in *fish teas, [etc.]. |
b. connected with the catching or selling of fish, as
fish-bag,
fish-bait,
fish-bar,
fish-basket,
fish-boat,
fish-boy,
fish-craft,
fish-creel,
fish-frail,
fish-line,
fish-market,
fish-net,
† fish-officer,
fish-salesman,
† fish-shambles,
† fish-ship,
fish-shop,
fish-spear,
fish-stall,
fish-street,
fish-trap,
fish-van,
fish-wagon,
fish-woman.
| 1815 Sporting Mag. XLVI. 11 If my *fish-bag should fall in the way of such a man. |
| 1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-Snaps 275 Won't the laundress rub the skin off her knuckles when she tries to get the *fish-bait off your ruffled skirt. |
| 1887 Mod. London 195/1 A *fish bar where those tempting little fish luncheons popularly denominated ‘snacks’ may be had at all hours. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxi, Women with *fish-baskets on their heads. |
| 1663 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1829) 82 Eighteen gentlemen..passing the water of Findhorn in a *fish-boat, were pitifully drowned. 1919 J. Masefield Reynard 117 Like a fish-boat beached. |
| 1853 Reade Chr. Johnstone xiii. 217 The *fish-boys struck up a dismal chant of victory. |
| 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 12 Seuarn is swyft of streme, *fishecraft is therin. 1866 Game Laws Conn. in Fur, Fin & Feather (1872) 34 Shall forfeit the value of the seine and fish-craft used for said purpose. |
| 1953 Dylan Thomas Under Milk Wood (1954) 33 In you reeled, my boy, as drunk as a deacon with..a *fish-frail full of stout. |
| 1639 in Archives Maryland IV. 79, 2. *fish lines. 1864 J. T. Trowbridge Cudjo's Cave xliii. 451 Arms and head hung down, causing him to resemble..a frog hooked on for bait at the end of a fish-line. 1913 J. London Valley of Moon iii. i, Hall had sent out fish-lines and a swimming suit. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Fishe market and fishe streate. 1863 M. E. Braddon Eleanor's Vict. i, The slimy and slippery fish market. |
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xix. 21 Hwy ᵹe nu ne settan on sume dune *fisc net eowru. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 175 Werpinde ut here fishnet in þe se. 1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. i. 20 Goose to get in a fish-net set! |
| 1472 Presentmts. of Juries in Surtees Misc. (1890) 23 Þ{supt} þy sell noy feche w{supt} owt y{supt} be abyld be *fyche offesers. |
| 1868 Peard Water-Farm. xv. 154 An eminent *fish-salesman. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 243 The Maquerels..furnish the *fish shambles. |
| 1676 Lond. Gaz. No. 1144/1 Several English *Fish Ships are arrived. |
| 1827 Hone Every-day Bk. II. 58 Pedestrians..turn in to sup at the *fish-shops. |
| 1611 Bible Job xli. 7 Canst thou fill..his head with *fish-speares? 1837 R. M. Bird Nick of Woods II. xi. 144 Upon this pillar..were laid or suspended sundry Indian utensils of the kitchen and the field,..wooden bowls..fish spears [etc.]. 1908 E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber i. iv. 150 To enjoy it to perfection, extricate the creature from his lurking place far down in the blue crevice of the coral, with a fish-spear. |
| 1818 Sporting Mag. II. 100 Well pleas'd with the bargain, she left the *fish-stall. |
| 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville III. 44 Trout and other fish, which they catch..in ‘*fish traps’. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Fish-van, a light spring-cart for transporting fish; a railway truck set apart for fish. |
| 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. i. 11 The *fish waggon comes by. |
| 1698 J. Crull Muscovy 141 You may hear them..Abuse one another like *Fish-Women. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 170 In those private letters..the Princess expressed the sentiments of a fury in the style of a fish-woman. |
c. in the names of dishes, etc., composed of fish, as
fish-ball,
† fish-broo,
fish-broth,
fish-cake,
fish-chowder,
† fish-pickle,
fish-pie,
fish-pudding,
fish-soup,
fish-stock.
| 1854 B. P. Shillaber Mrs. Partington 100 The breakfast was waiting for him, the *fishballs were getting cold. 1872 E. A. Hart Runaway iii. 67 The viands that it might be possible to carry out to Olga. Soup?.. Fish⁓balls? 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 316 Fish Balls, with Brown Sauce. |
| 14.. Nominale in Wr.-Wülcker 740 Garus, a *fysc⁓browe. |
| 1660 Howell Lex. Tetrag., *Fish-broth, or fish-pickle, murette de poisson. |
| 1854 Harper's Mag. May 802/1 The favorite comestible was the piroga, a very unctuous kind of *fish⁓cake. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 316 Fishcakes in Curry. |
| 1838 E. C. Wines Trip to Boston 79 We had ‘clam chowder’ and ‘*fish chowder’. 1897 Kipling Capt. Cour. 84 Harvey stuffed himself to the brim on fish-chowder and fried pies. |
| 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict., *Fish Pie, a Dish usually serv'd upon Days of Abstinence. |
| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 316 *Fish Pudding, in tins. |
| 1723 J. Nott Cook's & Confect. Dict. No. 136 B, Strain it through a Sieve..and use it to simmer *Fish-soops. 1886 Sat. Rev. 6 Mar. 328/1 Fish soup is made out of the ‘trimmings’ of fish. |
| 1787 J. Farley Lond. Art of Cookery (ed. 4) 166 Take what quantity may be wanted of *fish⁓stock. 1883 A. Thomas Mod. Housewife 51 The receipt for a fish-stock which is as strengthening and succulent as can well be desired. |
d. objective, as
fish-breeder,
fish-cadger,
fish-catcher,
fish-curer,
fish-frier,
fish-hawker,
fish-seller;
fish-breeding,
fish-packing,
vbl. ns.;
fish-eating,
fish-producing,
fish-selling,
ppl. adjs.| 1860 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents: Agric. 1859 232 Practical hints to *fish breeders. 1883 E. R. Lankester Adv. Science (1890) 214 So far as it affects the procedure of fish-catchers, fish-breeders, or fish-culturists. |
| 1860 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents: Agric. 1859 232 The best methods of securing success in artificial *fish breeding. |
| 1889 Barrie Window in Thrums 189 Hendry had been to the *fish-cadger in the square. |
| 1530 Palsgr. 220/2 *Fysse catcher, peschevr. |
| 1847–8 H. Miller First Impr. x. (1857) 166, I have seen a *fish-curer's vat throwing down its salt when surcharged with the mineral. |
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 323/1 The *fish-eating Osprey. |
| 1892 Encycl. Cookery I. 660/1 Larger fish require a vessel called a *fish-fryer, which is fitted with a perforated or wire strainer. 1893 Daily News 14 Apr. 6/6 The wife of a fish-frier. |
| 1866 Cornh. Mag. May 616 *Fish-hawkers wrangle and organ-grinders count their ill-gotten coppers. |
| 1890 Westm. Gaz. 30 Sept. 3/1 The *fish-producing lakes and rivers. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 163/1 *Fysch sellare, piscarius. |
| 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) I. 475 *Fish-selling rhetoricians. |
e. similative, as
† fish-drunk,
fish-eyed,
fish-faced,
fish-haunted,
fish-like,
fish-shaped,
adjs.| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Embarbascar, to make *fishe drunke. |
| 1937 L. C. Douglas Forgive our Trespasses x. 199 Its *fish-eyed challenge that dared any man to speed its heart. a 1940 W. J. Turner Sea Music in P. M. Jones Mod. Verse (1940) 138 Thro' the fish-eyed meadows Flows the herd-pasturing ocean. |
| 1963 Wodehouse Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves xviii. 143 He's no worse than that *fishfaced blighter. |
| 1887 Morris tr. Homer's Odyssey x. 458, I myself, I know, How on the sea *fish-haunted ye bore a weight of woe. 1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid xi. 248 The fish-haunted river Padusa. |
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii 27 A very ancient and *fish-like smell. 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 93/2 The elongated fish-like form of those amphibia. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge (1849) 3/2 Dull fish-like eyes. |
| 1878 H. H. Gibbs Ombre 8 The counters should be long or *fish-shaped. |
f. instrumental and originative, as
fish-derived,
fish-fed,
fish-feeding,
adjs.| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. p. xxxvi, *Fish-derived products. |
| 1614 Sylvester Bethulian's Rescue v. 297 *Fish⁓fed Carmanians. |
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 280/1 The *fish-feeding Grallæ. |
g. appositive, as
fish-god,
fish-goddess.
| 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. v. (1856) 256 Dagon the *Fish-god. |
| Ibid., Derceto, the *Fish-goddess. |
7. Special comb.:
fish and chips, a dish consisting of fried fish and fried chipped potatoes; also
ellipt. for a shop at which this dish may be bought ready-cooked; also
attrib.,
esp. in form
fish-and-chip;
fish-backed a., shaped like a fish's back, swelling upwards;
† fish-basil (see
quot.);
fish-basket, (
a) a basket used for carrying fish (see 6 b); (
b)
U.S., a creel for catching fish;
fish-bed, a deposit containing the fossil remains of fishes;
fish-bellied a., shaped like a fish's belly, ‘curved underneath, the depth of curve increasing towards the centre’ (Lockwood);
fish belly, (
a) see
quot. 1878; (
b)
attrib.,
= fish-bellied,
adj.; (
c) used
attrib. of a degree of whiteness;
fish-berry, a name for
Cocculus indicus, the fruit of
Anamirta cocculus, used for stupefying fish;
fish-blooded a., cold-blooded;
fishbone-stitch (see
quot. 1957);
fish-bone-thistle = fish-thistles;
fish-bone-tree, ‘the
Panax crassifolium, a small araliaceous tree of New Zealand’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-brine, a fish-sauce;
fish-broth (see 6 c),
humorously, salt-water;
fish-car, a box in which fish are carried alive in the water;
fish-carle Sc., a fisherman (
Jam.);
fish-carrier, (
a) a vessel used to transport the ‘catch’ from the fishing-boats to the shore; (
b) a contrivance for keeping fish alive whilst transporting them from place to place;
fish-carver, a carving knife for fish;
pl. a carving knife and fork for fish;
† fish-climber, ?
= fish-berry;
fish-coop, (
a)
= fish-pot; (
b) ‘a box about three feet square used in fishing through ice’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-crow (
U.S.), a crow (
Corvus ossifragus) that feeds mainly on fish;
fish-culture, the artificial breeding of fish, pisciculture; hence
fish-cultural a., of, pertaining to, or concerned in fish-culture, piscicultural;
fish-culturist, one engaged in fish-culture, a fish-breeder, a pisciculturist;
fish dive (see
quot. 1952);
fish-eagle, an eagle that preys upon fish;
† fish-ear (see
quot.);
fish-eater, (
a) one who lives chiefly upon fish; (
b) chiefly
pl. a knife and fork to eat fish with;
fish-eye, (
a) (also
fish's eye) a variety of moonstone; a diamond or imitation diamond; (
b) (see
quot. 1958); (
c) used
attrib. or as adj. of a wide-angle lens with a curved front resembling a fish's eye; also
ellipt.;
fish-eye-stone Min.,
obs. synonym of
apophyllite;
fish-face, a term of abuse;
fish-fag, a female hawker of fish, a fishwife;
fish-farm, a place where fish-culture is carried on; hence
fish-farmer,
fish-farming;
† fish-fast, the observance of fish-days (see
fish-day);
fish-finder, a device for locating fish;
fish finger, a small finger-shaped or rectangular section of fish coated in batter or breadcrumbs;
fish-flake (
U.S.), a frame upon which fish is laid to dry;
fish-flour, (
a)
= fish-meal; (
b) ‘a dry inodorous fertilizer made from fishes, used for manure’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-fly U.S., any of various small insects belonging to the order Megaloptera and family Corydalidæ, especially those included in the genus
Chauliodes;
fish food, (
a)
= fish n.1 4; (
b) the food eaten by fishes;
fish-fry, (
a)
U.S., a picnic where fish is fried and eaten; (
b)
= fry n.1 3;
fish-gaff, a pole with an iron hook at the end by means of which heavy fish are secured when caught with a line;
fish geranium U.S., a garden variety of geranium,
Pelargonium hortorum;
fish-globe, a spherical glass vessel in which fish are kept;
fish-glue, glue obtained from the bladders and sounds of fish, isinglass;
fish-gorge, a primitive implement for catching fish, consisting of something (
e.g. a stone) fastened by a string for the fish to swallow;
fish guano = fish-manure;
fish-hack, a name of the
Gobius niger (
Adm. Smyth);
fish-hatchery, a place for the rearing of fish by artificial means; so
fish-hatching vbl. n.;
fish-hawk, the osprey, or bald-buzzard (
Pandion haliaëtus);
fish-horn, a tin horn used on fishing-boats or by sellers of fish;
fish-house,
† (
a) a place where fish are kept; (
b) a place where fish is sold;
fish insect = silver-fish 2;
fish-kettle, a long oval vessel for boiling fish;
fish-knife, a broad knife, usually of silver, for cutting and serving fish at table; also, a knife for eating fish with;
fish-ladder, a series of steps to enable fish to ascend a fall or dam by a succession of leaps;
fish-leaves, the pondweed
Potamogeton natans, the flat leaves of which were formerly supposed to give shelter to fish;
† fish-leep, a fish-basket;
fish-liquor, the liquid in which a fish has been boiled;
fish-liver-oil, a term applied to the oil obtained from other fish than the cod (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884);
fish-lock = fish-weir;
fish-louse, a general name for crustaceans parasitic on fishes;
fish-man,
† (
a) one who makes a meal of fish; (
b) a fish hawker; (
c) a fisherman; (
d) a student of ichthyology;
fish-manure, a manure or fertilizer composed of fish;
† fish-mariner, the sail-fish;
fish-maw, the sound or air-bladder of a fish;
fish-meal, dried fish ground to a meal;
fish-meter (see
quot.);
† fish-mint, water-mint;
fish-moth = silver-fish 2;
fish-net, used
attrib. of an open-meshed fabric or garment;
fish-oil, oil obtained from fishes and marine animals,
spec. cod-liver oil and whale oil;
fish-owl, an eared fishing owl, of the genus
Ketupa, with rough feet;
fish paper, (
a) paper on which cooked fish is laid; (
b) (see
quot. 1924);
fish-pass = fish-way;
fish paste = paste n. 1 d;
fish-pearl, an artificial pearl (see
quot.);
fish-plate, the perforated draining plate of a fish-kettle;
fish-poison, a name given to various plants which have an intoxicating effect upon fish, causing them to float helplessly on the surface of the water;
fish pole U.S., a pole used as a fishing-rod;
fish-pomace, the refuse of fish after the oil has been expressed, used as a fertilizer;
fish-pot, a wicker basket for catching fish,
esp. eels, also crabs, lobsters, etc.;
fish-potter, one who uses or has charge of fish-pots;
† fish-range, a place for catching and drying fish;
fish-room (see
quots.);
fish-sauce, sauce made to be eaten with fish;
fish sausage, a sausage made with fish;
fish-scrap, fish refuse, used as a fertilizer;
fish-slice, a fish-carving knife; also, an implement used by cooks for turning fish in the pan;
fish-slide, ‘a fish-trap for shallow rivers and low waterfalls: used in the southern United States’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-sound, the swimming bladder of a fish;
† fish-stew = fish-pond: see
stew;
fish stick, (
a) (see
quot. 1875); (
b)
N. Amer. = fish finger;
† fish-stone, ? a stone table for the sale of fish;
fish-story, an incredible tale or ‘yarn’;
† fish-stove = fish-stew;
fish-strainer, (
a) ‘a metal cullender with handles for taking fish from a boiler; (
b) an earthenware slab with holes, placed at the bottom of a dish to drain the water from cooked fish’ (Simmonds);
fish supper, a supper meal with fish as the main course;
spec. (
esp. Sc.), a meal of fish and chips bought from a take-away restaurant;
fish tank, a tank to hold live (
esp. ornamental) fish, an aquarium;
fish-thistles, the
Chamæpeuce casabonæ (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884);
fish-tiger, a bird that preys upon fish;
fish-tongue, ‘an instrument sometimes used for the removal of the wisdom-teeth: so named from its shape’ (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884);
fish-torpedo, a torpedo resembling a fish in shape and with an automatic swimming action;
fish-trowel, a fish-carver in the shape of a trowel;
fish-warden (
U.S.), ‘an officer who has jurisdiction over the fisheries of any particular locality’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-way, an arrangement for enabling fish to ascend a fall or dam;
fish-weir,
† (
a) a draught of fishes; (
b)
= fish-garth;
fish-wood, (
a) (see
quot.); (
b) ‘the strawberry bush,
Euonymus americanus’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-worker, ‘a fishculturist’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-working, ‘fish-culture’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-works, (
a) ‘the appliances and contrivances used in fish-culture; (
b) a place where the products of the fisheries are utilized; a fish-factory’ (
Cent. Dict.);
fish-worm U.S. = earthworm 1;
cf. worm 8 b;
† fish-yard = fish-garth. Also
fish-day, -gig, -hook, -monger, -pond, -pool, -skin, -tail, -whole, -wife.
| 1876 in Listener (1965) 3 June 826/3 *Fish and chip shops were a considerable source of nuisance. 1913 Rowntree & Kendall How Labourer Lives iii. 169 Fish and chips..3[d.]. 1928 D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club x. 122 We'll go and see ‘George Barnwell’ at the Elephant and have a fish-and-chips supper afterwards. 1940 Economist 26 Oct. 517/2 The fish and chips sellers have been blessed by the Ministry of Food. 1948 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems (1958) 219 Ask at the fish and chips in the Market Square. 1961 E. A. Powdrill Vocab. Land Planning iii. 44 A study of social rank will normally involve an examination of population,..poverty shops (fish and chips, secondhand dealers, pawnbrokers, etc.). 1970 Which? Mar. 68/2 If it is classified as a dwelling house, you can't use it as a fish and chip shop without first getting planning permission. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 644 *Fish-backed rail. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccxiii. 549 L'Obelius..calleth it [another wilde Basill] Corcoros, which we have Englished *Fish Basill. |
| 1814 H. M. Brackenridge Views Louisiana 179 They unite, and thus form a semicircle like a *fish basket. 1844 S. S. Haldeman in Schele de Vere Americanisms (1872) 351 Various species are abundantly caught..in fish-baskets, made of lath⁓work, with diverging walls of stone. 1867 Game Laws Penn. in Fur, Fin & Feather (1872) 100 It shall not be lawful to take, catch, or kill..any fish, by means of any fish-basket. 1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. i. 16 So come not near my dam and weir, Let my fish-basket be. |
| 1869 Rep. Comm. Agric. 1868 (U.S.) 75 Bones of marine animals are so abundant as to have induced Professor L. Agassiz, twenty years ago, to call it the ‘*fish bed’ of the Charleston Basin. |
| 1834 Edin. Rev. LX. 118 *Fish-bellied instead of parallel rails. 1862 Smiles Engineers III. 282 The line was..laid with fish-bellied rails. |
| 1878 W. Dickinson Cumbld. Gloss. 33/1 *Fish belly, the Cnicus heterophyllus plant. The underside of the leaf is white, and turns up in the wind. 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn 31 A tree-toad white, a fish-belly white. 1888 Greenwell Gloss. Coal-trade terms (ed. 3) 38 Malleable iron rails of the fish-belly pattern. 1927 A. Conan Doyle Case Bk. S. Holmes 63 Fish-belly whiteness. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 14 Jan. 3/1 Not that the historian is *fish-blooded and without predisposition. 1923 Daily Mail 27 Feb. 8 The Ministerial policy of fish-blooded neutrality. |
| 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 182/2 Note *fish-bone stitch on frayed edges. 1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 131/1 Fishbone-stitch, series of diagonal single-purl stitches zigzagged across an unmarked line. |
| 1882 Garden 1 Apr. 220/1 Chamæpeuce (*Fish-bone Thistle). |
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 128 Liquamen, uel garum, *fiscbryne. 1820 W. Tooke tr. Lucian I. 553 From inadvertence pour the fish-brine into their lentil-soup. |
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 44 The churlish frampold waues gaue him his belly-full of *fish-broath. |
| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 199 Model of *fish-car towed by the smack for keeping the catch alive. |
| 1804 W. Tarras Elegy on Sautie 11 Poems 143 Ye *fish-carles never lift an oar, In codlin greed. |
| 1886 Pall Mall G. 29 June 4/1, I went out to the fleets on board a steam *fish-carrier. 1888 Ibid. 27 Dec. 2/2 Among Mr. Burgess's other notions, however, one took the form of a fish carrier. The carrier he has invented is made of zinc. |
| 1855 E. Acton Mod. Cookery (rev. ed.) p. xxxvii, (caption) *Fish Carvers. |
| 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) III. i. 447 *Fish-Climer has a welted Stalk..its Beans are red, with a black Kernel: these being bruised and cast into Rivers intoxicate the Fish. |
| 1803 S. Pegge Anecd. Eng. Lang. 277 A *fish-coop..for taking fish in the Humber, made of twigs, such as are called eel pots in the south. |
| 1812 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. V. 27 *Fish-crow: Corvus ossifragus. 1870 Amer. Naturalist III. 287 The Fish-crows..are running over the wet sands. 1883 Century Mag. Sept. 682/2 The fish-crow fishes only when it has destroyed all the eggs and young birds it can find. |
| 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 61 The art of *fish-culture is almost as old as civilization itself. |
| 1872 (title), Transactions of the American *Fish Cultural Association. |
| 1874 Amer. Cycl. III. 219 This method has been extensively adopted by American *fish culturists. |
| 1943 K. Ambrose Ballet-Lover's Pocket Bk. iii. 40 A lift from the climax of the Aurora pas de deux; known to dancers as the ‘*fish dive’. 1952 Kersley & Sinclair Dict. Ballet Terms 78 Poisson, a position of the body in which the dancer arches her back, lifts her head, and bends back her legs with the feet crossed. This pose may be sustained while jumping..or in double work when the girl is supported in this position and the term pas poisson or fish dive is used. 1959 Times 26 Jan. 6/5 Her dancing betrayed signs of unsteadiness only in the exacting ‘fish-dives’ in the final pas-de-deux. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. ii. 59 A Fisher⁓man of Strasburgh..sets forth the Bald Buzzard under the title of *Fish-Eagle. 1890 H. M. Stanley in Pall Mall G. 28 June 2/2 Fish eagles. |
| 1748 Phil. Trans. XLV. 233 The other [order of Fishes] is furnish'd with Organs analogous to Lungs, which we call *Fish-Ears, or Gills. |
| 1741 Chambers Cycl., Ichthyophagi, *Fish-eaters. 1849 Southey Comm-pl. Bk. Ser. 11, Babylonian Fish-eaters. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 78 Fish Eaters, Fish Carvers. |
| 1882 E. W. Streeter Prec. Stones (ed. 3) 96 The ‘*Fish's Eye’ becomes red by transmitted light, undergoing the same changes as a bead of Schmetze paste. 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 33 Fish eye,..a diamond. 1916 F. B. Wade Diamonds vi. 139 The stone that is too thin will have a ring of brilliancy around a black and empty centre producing the so-called ‘fish eye’ effect. 1942 Metal Progress XLII. 201 (heading) Fish-eyes in steel welds caused by hydrogen. Ibid. 203/2 ‘Coarsely crystalline fracture’ surrounded by normal fibrous metal in tensile and impact specimens showing ‘flakes’, ‘snowflakes’, ‘fish-eyes’, and such variously named seats of hydrogen embrittlement..can be immediately recognized by that outstanding characteristic whereby the affected zones stand out brilliantly against the darker fibrous background. 1958 A. D. Merriman Dict. Metallurgy 94/11 Fish eyes, a term used in reference to micro⁓fissures occurring in steel. 1961 R. Schreyer et al. Dict. Photogr. 192/2 Fish-eye lens. 1969 Amat. Photogr. 28 May 73/1 The range of lenses is immense. The widest angle is given by fish-eye types which reduce the image scale at the edges more than in the centre. 1971 Pop. Photogr. Aug. 60 (Advt.), A fisheye conversion lens. Ibid. 90/1 The fisheye could be used to obtain an even broader coverage. |
| 1805 R. Jameson Char. Min. II. 601 Ichthyophthalmite or *Fish-eye-stone. |
| a 1625 Fletcher Hum. Lieutenant i. i, Whether would you, *fish face? 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. ix. 687 O, shut up, fish-face. |
| 1786 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Bozzy & Piozzi 21 With vulgar *fish-fags to be forc'd to chat. 1860 Times 8 Mar. 8/4 We rail away at one another..with the impotence of fish-fags. |
| 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 238 *Fish-farms for the cultivation of the oyster alone. |
| 1876 All Year Round 29 Apr. 162/1 Broad-leaved aquatic plants are a real blessing to the *fish farmer. |
| 1869 Rep. Comm. Agric. 1868 (U.S.) 330 Area for *fish-farming. 1969 Guardian 20 Nov. 7/3 Flat fish..spawn only once a year, a productivity level unacceptable to those interested in fish farming. |
| 1554 T. Sampson in Strype Eccl. Mem. III. App. xviii. 49 *Fish-fasts, vows, pilgrimages. |
| 1961 New Scientist 9 Nov. 362/1 In ordinary trawling the *fish-finder apparatus has its transducer set in the hull of the ship. 1962 Ibid. 2 Aug. 251/1 An ingenious use of a small magnetic memory drum is made in a new type of fish-finder for trawlers. |
| 1962 Listener 22 Mar. 510/1 Cornflakes and frozen *fish-fingers, oven-ready chickens, and wrapped, sliced bread. 1970 Which? Apr. 105/1 Fish fingers are white fish fillets, coated with crumbs. Ibid. 106/1 All the fish fingers are a valuable source of protein. Three fish fingers will give an 8-year-old child a fifth of his or her daily protein requirement. |
| 1837–40 Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 195 A sort o' *fish flakes. 1865 Thoreau Cape Cod x. 197 The houses here were surrounded by fish-flakes, close up to the sills. |
| 1880 G. B. Goode Menhaden 141 (Cent. Dict.) Biscuits made from *fish-flour..were in good condition after having been kept for ten years in an unsealed jar. 1956 Nature 17 Mar. 512/2 Much attention is being given [in S. Africa] to the production of fish flour in a form suitable for enriching bread. 1963 Spectator 15 Feb. 191 Fish flour, which has been developed in the US, would seem to be everything that a cheap, protein-rich food should be. 1968 M. Pyke Food & Society ii. 19 An argument about fish ‘flour’. This is a product composed of fat-extracted, dried and powdered fish. 1969 N. W. Pirie Food Resources v. 140 Initially the product was called ‘fish flour’; now however, because of protests from flour millers, it is called ‘fish protein concentrate’ or FPC. |
| 1866 Prairie Farmer 16 June 412/1 (heading) Large *Fish Fly. 1902 L. O. Howard Insect Bk. 211 The so-called comb-horned fish-fly..is the commonest form throughout the United States. 1955 Sci. News Let. 14 May 313/2 The fishfly, which begins its slow, nocturnal flights about this time of the year, is among the earliest insects with complete metamorphosis, fossil records show. |
| 1883 A. Shea Newfoundland Fisheries 12 Their excellence would give them a high place in the *fish-food market. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 14 Aug. 2/2 Fish-food from the sea. 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 1149/3 Zoological department... Fish Food—per pkt.— 11½. 1936 Discovery Feb. 43/1 On northern streams the Stone Fly and Alder Fly are more numerous, among aquatic insects forming fish food, than the May Fly. 1967 V. Canning Python Project ix. 175 Bags of hound meal, fish and bird food were stacked on the floor. |
| 1824 ‘A. Singleton’ Lett. 66 *Fish⁓fries are held about once in a fortnight. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind ii. 25 For two years he had squired her about the County, to balls, fish fries, picnics and court days. 1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 10 Tiniest fish-fry in a rock-bound pool. |
| 1887 Pall Mall G. 28 June 6/2 His two sisters..were cut and stabbed with a *fish-gaff. |
| 1865 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. V. 581, I remarked..on viewing some *fish geraniums..how much their scent was like that emitted from the scales of a fresh fish. 1901 L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. III. 1261/2 Fish or Bedding Geraniums. 1946 M. Free All about House Plants xvii. 163 House Geraniums (P[elargonium] hortorum), also known as Bedding, Horseshoe, Fish and Zonal Geraniums. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 438 This *fish-glew [Ichthyocolla] is thought to be best, that is brought out of Pontus. 1676 Worlidge Cyder (1691) 151 Isinglass, or Fish-glew. 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. 181 Isinglass or Fish-glue is the prepared air-bladder or swimming-bladder of the sturgeon. |
| 1883 B. Phillips in Century Mag. Apr. 900/1 Starting with the crude *fish-gorge, I can show, step by step, the complete sequence of the fish-hook. |
| 1856 Rep. Maine Board Agric. 81 The manufacture of ‘*fish guano’, as recently attempted. 1884 C. W. Smiley in U.S. Commiss. of Fish & Fisheries, Report for 1881 665 Six farmers used about five sacks each of fish guano. |
| 1862 London Society Aug. 134 All that can be at present done by the press is to show the ease with which a *fish-hatching apparatus can be established. 1869 Rep. Comm. Agric. 1868 (U.S.) 319 The Chinese..have practised fish-hatching successfully for centuries. 1883 G. B. Goode Fish. Indust. U.S. 59 This being needed for fish-hatching purposes, another larger steamer..has just been built. |
| a 1813 A. Wilson Osprey Poet. Wks. (1846) 280 God bless the *fish-hawk and the fisher! 1848 Thoreau Maine W. (1894) 35 Fish-hawks were sailing overhead. |
| 1856 F. S. Cozzens Sparrowgr. Papers iii. 38 Mrs. Sparrowgrass asked me who that was ‘blowing a *fish-horn’. 1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career xix. 351 The instrument leaping out into various angular flourishes, as if a fish⁓horn had got above its business and were ambitious of the reputation of a key-bugle. 1913 W. W. Thompson Sea Fisheries Cape Col. iv. 82 The tuneless reverberations of the archaic fish-horn. 1947 L. G. Green Tavern of Seas (1952) i. 7 The fish horn is music only in the ears of those who love Cape Town. |
| c 1000 ælfric's Gloss. Supp. in Wr.-Wülcker 184 Piscinale, *fischus. 1483 Cath. Angl. 132/2 A Fische house, piscarium. 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3748/4 A sand..stretcheth from the South end of the Town to the most Southern Fish⁓houses. 1877 S. O. Jewett Deephaven 224 Going to market was apt to use up a whole morning, especially if we went to the fish-houses. |
| 1905 Daily Chron. 21 July 2/7 A common *fish insect, which had been injuring photographs and photographic material. 1948 ‘P. Woodruff’ Whatever Dies 170 There were old copies of the..Field, half eaten away by fish-insects. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. §1. 2 A long Cauldron like a *Fish-kettle. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 16 Over the pan, or fish kettle, put a gridiron. |
| 1403 Nottingham Rec. II. 20, j. *fyschknyff, ij d. 1825 T. Cosnett Footman's Directory 129 Have two soup-ladles and fish-knives. 1826 The Ass 1 Apr. 2 You there with the pinking eyes and the fish-knife nose. |
| 1865 Mich. Gen. Statutes (1882) I. 574 Sufficient and permanent shutes or *fish ladders to admit of the free and uninterrupted passage of fish over such dam or dams. 1885 Bompas Life F. Buckland ix. 189 Many fish-ladders had proved useless. 1886 Britten & Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-Names 184 Fish leaves. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 163/1 *Fysch leep, nassa. |
| 1832 Miss Mitford Village Ser. v. (1863) 365 He's actually discussing the whole concern! fish, *fish-liquor, bread, and butter, and parsley. |
| 1661 N. Riding Rec. VI. 43 The milner of Brignall presented for that he do usually keep in the back beck a *fish-lock. |
| 1540 Sir R. Sadler State Papers I. 48, I eat eggs and white meats, because I am an evil *fishman. a 1584 Hist. Tom Thumb in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 220 Tom..is caught by a Fishman. 1794–6 E. Darwin Zoon. (1801) IV. 145 A fishman asleep on his panniers. 1805 Sporting Mag. XXV. 72 My fish-man of whom I constantly purchase. 1856 L. Agassiz in Bence Jones Life Faraday (1870) II. 378 The enthusiastic fish⁓man whom you met at Dr. Mantell's. |
| 1788 Washington Diaries (1925) III. 330 The effect of the *fish Manure w[hi]ch was put into the Corn hills in May last was visible with the Wheat. 1868 Rep. Mass. Board Agric. i. 105 Fish manures, the product of the oil-fisheries on our coast..sell at about forty-five dollars per ton. |
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 381 Thou *Fish-Mariner [side note The Sayle-Fish], Thou Boat-Crab. |
| 1840 H. Malcom Trav. 30/1 I tried sharks' fins, birds' nests, *fish-maws. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Fish-maws..are sent to China and used as glue, &c. |
| 1854 Badham Halieut. 23 They ate it [fish] raw, dried, or ground down in whalebone mortars into *fish-meal bread. 1967 Times 12 Apr. 28/4 Previously fishmeal was used mainly as a fertilizer, but now it is employed as an indispensable ingredient of animal feed. |
| 1880 Daily News 8 Nov. 2/5 The officers (*fishmeters as they are called) appointed by the Court of the Fishmongers' Company seized..18 tons 7 cwt. of fish as unfit for human food. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. lxxiv. 245 The seconde wilde kynde..is called.. in English *Fisshe Mynte, Brooke Mynte. |
| 1859 R. J. Mann Natal viii. 171 It is one of nature's beneficent compensations that the *fish-moth is devoid of wings. 1942 E. O. Essig College Ent. v. 70 The silver fish moth, Lepisma saccharina Linnaeus, is now almost cosmopolitan in distribution, being known in North America, Europe, China, Japan, and the Hawaiian Islands. |
| 1881 C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork i. 57 *Fish-net fringe..can be made of écru cord..in ordinary fish-net stitch, in large meshes. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 238/2 Hot Weather Specialities... Men's Fish Net Undershirts..with short sleeves. 1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise x. 182 My dear! and got up regardless..fish-net stockings and all. |
| 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. 188 Whale oil, known under the name of *Fish oil, is obtained from the Common Greenland Whale. 1887 Pall Mall G. 22 Nov. 2/2 The duty-free admission into the States of..fish-oils. 1867 A. L. Adams Naturalist in India 114 We were startled one night by the unpleasant laugh of the *fish-owl (Ketupa ceylonensis). |
| 1868 M. Jewry Warne's Model Cookery 98/2 Slide it [sc. the turbot] gently on to a hot dish, on which a folded damask napkin or ornamental *fish paper has been placed. 1924 C. J. West Class. & Def. Paper 38 Fish paper, a term applied to a chemically treated board; used..as insulation in building dynamos and motors. 1928 Daily Mail 9 Aug. 3/5 Always serve fried fish as hot as possible, dish it on a fish paper, [etc.]. |
| 1873 Act 36–7 Vict. c. 71 §17 No person shall..wilfully scare or hinder salmon from passing through any *fish pass. 1885 Bompas Life F. Buckland ix. 189 Varying weirs required different forms of fish-pass. |
| 1920 Peace Handbks. (Foreign Office) lxii. 55 Sturgeon..are made into *fish-pastes for local consumption. 1939 T. S. Eliot Old Possum's Pract. Cats 31 A spoon and a bit of fishpaste. 1960 A. E. Bender Dict. Nutrition 50/1 Fish paste legally must contain not less than 70% fish. |
| 1853 Ure Dict. Arts II. 361 In Saxony, a cheap but inferior quality [of pearls] is manufactured..They are known by the name of German *fish pearls. |
| 1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery 88 When the Water boils, lay the Turbott on a *Fish-plate. |
| 1802 J. Drayton View South-Carolina 67 *Fish poison, horse chesnut, or buck's eye. (æsculus Pavia.) 1846 Lindley Veget. Kingd. 384 Serjania triternata is also employed as a fish poison. 1866 Lindley & Moore Treas. Bot., Fish-poison, Lepidium Piscidium. Jamaica, Piscidia Erythrina. 1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 46/2 Fish-poison-plant. |
| 1834 Visit to Texas ix. 88 We touched [a flame] to a few of the tall canes, at this season as dry as *fish poles. 1841 J. F. Cooper Deerslayer xiv. 99 Deerslayer..played with the end of a fish-pole in the water. 1957 R. Ruark Old Man & Boy 261 ‘Just the cast net and some fish poles, Lottie,’ the old man said sweet as pie. |
| a 1555 Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 336, That *fish-pot or net in the which both good and naughty fishes be contained. 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 28 They place Fish-pots between the Rocks. 1847 Gosse Birds Jamaica 430 It was brought to him alive, having been knocked off a fish-pot-buoy. |
| 1820 Southey Lett. (1856) III. 183 The *fish-potters being unanimously of opinion that this is not the season. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 12 A little to the East of this River is a *Fish-Range..Here are Poles to hang their Nets on, and Barbecues to dry their Fish. |
| 1815 Falconer's Dict. Marine, *Fish-room, that place between the after-hold and the spirit-room. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 118 Fish-room, a place parted off in the after-hold..It was formerly used for stowing the salt-fish to be consumed on board. |
| 1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife 70 English katchop..is good to put into *Fish Sauce. 1818 Byron Beppo vii, I would recommend The curious in fish sauce..to bid their cook..buy..Ketchup. |
| 1937 N.Y. Times 16 Mar. 15/2 In Frankfort, the hot dog's home town,..*fish sausage had been introduced on the market. 1965 Punch 12 May 682/1 Technology Minister Frank Cousins gave the Commons an interim report on current progress towards the development of the fish sausage. 1969 N. W. Pirie Food Resources vii. 163 Also in Japan, 150,000 tons of fish sausage are eaten annually though it was almost unknown a few years ago. |
| 1881 N.Y. Times in G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes (1888) 112 These smacks are engaged..for the oil-rendering and *fish-scrap works on Barren Island. |
| 1748 H. Glasse Art of Cookery (ed. 2) v. 118 Have your *Fish-Slice ready. 1850 Dickens Dav. Copp. lxi. 602 We pick out the spoons and forks, fish-slices..and sugar-tongs. 1886 Punch 20 Nov. 252/2 The unavoidable absence of the fish-slice. |
| 1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 133/1 Gelatin-yielding substances..comprising..bladders and *fish sounds. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Fishe..stewe, icthyotrophia. 1885 Chamb. Jrnl. 75 A proposal to revive the fish stews or ponds which in bygone times were so plentiful in this country. |
| 1875 J. C. Wilcocks Sea Fisherm. 57 A *fish-stick consists generally of a young holly bush deprived of its bark, and the branches left about a foot in length at bottom, diminishing to six inches at the top, the fish being thrust on through a hole in the back. 1953 Time 12 Oct. 103 Birds Eye brought out fish sticks (fresh fish coated with a special batter, breaded, fried, packed and then frozen). 1955 Kingston (Ont.) Whig-Standard 6 Apr. 25/2 The newly developed frozen fish fillets known as fish sticks. |
| 1822 in Picton L'Pool Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 379 The erection of such a number of *Fish Stones in Derby Square..as they may think proper for the accommodation of the neighbourhood. |
| 1819 St. Louis Enquirer 8 Dec. (Th.), A *fish story!.. In consequence of the shoals of white-fish which occupied and choaked the channel between Bois Blanc Island and Amherstburgh, the steamboat could not pass. 1823 Missouri Intelligencer 28 Jan. (Th.), That's ‘a fish story’, but mine's a true one. 1867 Harper's Mag. July 183/1 A friend who does not tell fish stories, says he has seen them [sc. herring] in such schools that he could not row his boat through them. 1887 C. F. Holder Living Lights 97 Exaggerations are often termed ‘fish-stories’, for the reason perhaps that improbable tales are related concerning the denizens of the sea. |
| 1615 Sandys Journey iv. 255 The *fish-stoues by him hewne out of the rocke, and built. |
| 1829 P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. II. 179 Short and sweet to the Sheenies—better than a prime *fish supper to their palates; their blunt had been laid out right. 1974 News & Press (Darlington, S. Carolina) 25 Apr. 1/1 The Darlington Handicapped Chapter's fried fish supper will be held Friday night. 1985 Times 5 Nov. 15/4 [Sc. correspondent] Nor did he treat himself to a fish supper at my expense. |
| 1957 Encycl. Brit. II. 159/2 Most of these [temperate-water] fishes..are not good candidates for domestic *fish tanks. 1984 N.Y. Times 27 Aug. b3/5 A Manhattan man and his wife were moving their daughter's 10-gallon fish tank..when it suddenly slipped from their hands and smashed. |
| 1879 E. Arnold Lt. Asia i. (1886) 20 The pied *fish-tiger hung above the pool. |
| 1878 N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 236 The Shah..sent a *fish-torpedo against the Huascar. |
| 1855 H. Clarke Dict., *Fish-trowel. |
| 1826 Cushing Newburyport 118 *Fishwardens. Messrs. Offin Boardman, [etc.] |
| 1845 Mass. Acts. & Resolves 1843–45 434 Whenever a *fishway shall be constructed..all former laws relating to fishways at said dam shall be repealed. 1870 Law Rep. V. 671 No mill is prejudiced by the making of a fishway in the dam. |
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke v 4 Lætað eowre nett on þone *fisc-wer. a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 261 Fiscwer and mylne macian. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 423 Tweye grete fische werys. 1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 376/1 Fish-weirs along the rocks. |
| 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. II. 73 The celebrated *fish-wood (Piscidia erythrina) used for the purpose of intoxicating fish. |
| 1854 Thoreau Walden 223, I catch shiners with *fishworms. 1933 Amer. Speech VIII. iv. 15/2 The term fishworm has a wide distribution throughout New England. 1971 Daily Hampshire Gaz. (Northampton, Mass.) 27 Aug. 1 Billy Middleton..was planning on going fishing when he had the chance to dangle a long fat fishworm in front of Sandra Dobbs. |
| 1685 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 287 Allowing Mr. Maior..all the fish taken in y⊇ *fish yards in one tide. 1789 Ibid. II. 241 To destroy the Fish Yards now set upon the..river Mersey. |
▸
there are (plenty) more fish in the sea and variants: there will be many more (romantic) opportunities in the future (used chiefly to console someone disappointed in love).
| [c 1573G. Harvey Schollars Loove in Let.-bk. (1884) 126 In the mayne sea theres good stoare of fishe, And in delicate gardens and in gourgeous bowers, Theres allwayes greate varietye of desirable flowers.] 1859 J. W. De Forest Seacliff xxlii. 333 Bait your hook again, and heave it somewhere else. There are plenty of other fish in the sea just as fine as this one. a 1893 H. C. De Mille & D. Belasco Lord Chumley i, in America's Lost Plays (1941) XVII. 143 Lord C. But you're quite right, Lady Adeline; I have been crossed in love. Lady A... Never mind, there are more fish in the sea. 1921 W. de la Mare Mem. Midget xx. 142 Nil desperandum, Mr. Crimble. And you know what they say about fish in the sea. 1991 A. Campbell Sidewinder ix. 116 ‘He didn't die of a broken heart, that's for sure, so what did he do about it?’ ‘He gets himself another woman. He wasn't particular. {oqq}Plenty more fish in the sea,{cqq} he says.’ |
▸
fish and chip van n. Brit. = chip van n. at
chip n.1 Additions.
| 1943 N.Y. Times 12 Sept. 52/8 She converted an old car into a *fish and chip van which toured the villages [of Suffolk] with great success. 1953 Times 20 Nov. 2/6 They denied that he was a ‘stall-holder’ by virtue of his ownership of the fish and chip van. 2001 R. Barker Summertime 113 Their van has a side window, like a fish and chip van. |
▸
fish-net n. (in
pl.) open-meshed stockings or tights.
| 1967 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 13 Sept. 18 (advt.) With hemlines soaring to new heights, Casual Hose are ‘switched-on’ as never before! Choose all the very latest including *Fishnets, Lace,..Opaques and many more. 2002 E. White Fast Girls x. 189 Madeline and Margaret are denizens of the Goth subculture—fans of Nine Inch Nails, Anne Rice novels, dressing in corsets and fishnets. |
▸
fish-wrap adj. and
n. N. Amer. colloq. (
depreciative)
(a) adj. of, relating to, or designating a low-quality publication,
esp. a newspaper;
(b) n. ephemeral printed matter which lacks (lasting) worth (considered as useful only for wrapping fish).
| 1964S. Martinelli Let. 5 Aug. in C. Bukowski & S. Martinelli Beerspit Night & Cursing (2001) 306 Wax Wrath [i.e. Kenneth Rexroth] knows all this too—and often employs it in his *fish-wrap chats—as this reader most certainly understands. 1966 Independent (Long Beach, Calif.) 28 Feb. 1/6 (heading) Fish-wrap ages nearly as fast as fish. A new art magazine..will participate in the ‘autodestruction’ school by treating the pages..with a chemical ‘so that copies will disintegrate..in about four weeks’. 1991 M. Atwood Wilderness Tips 223 A year from now it'll all be fish-wrap. 2001 Village Voice (N.Y.) 25 Dec. 114/3 Quoyle installs himself at the local fish-wrap newspaper. |
▸
fish wrapper n. N. Amer. colloq. (
depreciative) a newspaper (
cf. fish-wrap adj. and
n. at Additions).
| 1910 C. E. Montague Hind Let Loose i. 11 ‘The *fish-wrapper’, a title exchanged..by two standard-bearers of our culture in the press of the Far East. 1940 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 9 Jan. 21/1 The story of those Hawaiian hula dancers—a publicity stunt as flagrant as it proved illegal—was announced exclusively in his fish-wrapper! 2003 Philadelphia Inquirer 16 May a26/2 Blair wasn't working for just any old fish wrapper but for the most venerated newspaper in the country. |
▸
fish and brewis n. Newfoundland a dish of salted cod cooked with hard bread (
cf. brewis n. 2).
| 1907 N. Duncan Cruise of Shining Light ix. 90 They’re at table, lad, with *fish an' brewis sot out. 1966 A. R. Scammell My Newfoundland 23 ‘Fish and brewis?’ Uncle Jasper's tone was reverent. ‘And scruncheons?’ 1992 B. Morgan Random Passage xi. 139 Beside a big pot of fish and brewis are platters of trout and salmon, baked sea bird stuffed with breadcrumbs and savory. |
▪ II. fish, n.2 (
fɪʃ)
[Of doubtful etymology. The comb.
fish-paunch, synonymous with sense 1, suggests that the word was a transferred use of
fish n.1; the appropriateness of the name on this supposition is not obvious, but the same may be said of many nautical terms of undisputed etymology. On the other hand, it is possible that the word is a. F.
fiche (see next); it is not known that the F. word was ever used in sense 1, but its etymological sense is ‘a means of fixing.’]
1. Naut. ‘A long piece of hard wood, convex on one side and concave on the other’ (
Adm. Smyth), used to strengthen a mast or yard; a fish-piece.
| 1666 Lond. Gaz. No. 59/3 We put hard hands on Jury Masts and Fishes. 1692 in Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. 79 Lash the Fish on to the Mast. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. vii. 367 His fore-mast was broken asunder..and was only kept together by the fishes which had been formerly clapt upon it. 1749 Chalmers Phil. Trans. XLVI. 367 The Spikes, that nail the Fish of the Mainmast. 1854 G. B. Richardson Univ. Code v. 2143 Can you let me have a fish for my mast? c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 73 One fore and one aft fish dowelled and bolted to spindle and side trees. |
| transf. 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle xvi. (1859) 410 A black paw with fishes or splints whipped round it by a band of spunyarn. |
2. A flat plate of iron, wood, etc. laid upon a beam, rail, etc., or across a joint, to protect or strengthen it; in railway construction
= fish-plate.
| 1847 Specif. Adams & Richardson's Patent No. 11 715. 2 To connect the two iron rails together we use wood or iron fishes. 1875 R. F. Martin tr. Havrez' Winding Mach. 4 Rods..tied together by oak fishes of the same scantling as the rods. 1875–6 Proc. Inst. Civ. Engin. XLVI. 202 The original road had been laid with fishes 16 inches long. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
fish-bar,
-beam,
-bolt,
-hoop, (see
quots.);
fish-joint, a joint or splice made with fish-plates (also
fish-plate joint); hence
fish-joint v.,
-jointed,
-jointing;
fish-front,
-paunch,
= sense 1;
fish-piece = 1, 2 above;
fish-plate, one of two plates bolted together through the ends of two rails on either side of their meeting-point to cover and strengthen the joint; hence
fish-plating.
| 1872 W. S. Huntington Road-Master's Assistant (ed. 2) 27 Expansion..is supposed to have been provided for at the rolling-mill, by elongating the bolt-hole both in the rail and *fish-bar. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 872/1 Fish-bar, the splice bar which breaks the joint of two meeting objects, as of railroad rails or scarfed timber. |
| 1892 Northumb. Gloss. s.v., A ‘*fish beam’ is a composite beam, where an iron plate is sandwiched between two wood beams. |
| 1875 J. W. Barry Railw. Appliances (1890) 61 The nuts of the *fish-bolts are apt to shake loose with the jar of passing trains. 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Fish-bolt, a bolt employed for fastening fish plates and rails together. |
| 1815 Falconer's Dict. Marine (ed. Burney), *Fish-front, or Paunch is a long piece of oak or fir timber, convex on one side, and concave on the other, used to strengthen the lower masts or yards, when they are sprung. |
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 24 At the lower end of the fish is driven on a hoop, called a *fish-hoop, which is beat close to the sides of the mast. |
| 1849 J. Samuel in Proc. Inst. Civ. Engin. VIII. 265 A number of these *fish joints had been laid down. 1868 Daily News 5 Nov., The almost universal adoption of the new ‘fish-joint rail’. 1892 Northumb. Gloss. 286 A ‘fish joint’ is a joint made by bolting or riveting a plate on each side near the ends. |
| 1855 Dempsey Pract. Railw. Engineer (ed. 4) 265 A portion only of the lines of this kingdom being as yet *fish-jointed..It is obvious that with the same rail a fish-jointed road is much stronger. |
| Ibid. 267 Mr. Ashcroft has accomplished the *fish-jointing of 150 miles of line without accident. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Fish-piece. 1869 E. J. Reed Ship-build. vi. 102 The fish pieces or covering plates. |
| 1855 Dempsey Pract. Railw. Engineer 268 The chairs are cast so that one side forms a *fish-plate. 1889 G. Findlay Eng. Railway 42 In 1847 Mr. Bridges Adams introduced the suspended joint with fish plates. 1889 Life of Vignoles xiii. 183 Vignoles always claimed to have been one of the earliest to introduce the fish-plate joint. |
| 1881 Young Every Man his own Mechanic §437 An exemplification of this fish-joint or *fish-plating is to be seen on any railway. |
▪ III. fish, n.3 (
fɪʃ)
[ad. F. fiche (of same meaning; also peg), f. ficher to fix; see ficche v.] A small flat piece of bone or ivory used instead of money or for keeping account in games of chance; sometimes made in the form of a fish.
Popularly confused with
fish n.; hence the collective
sing. is used for
pl.| 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. i. i, I am now going to a party at Quadrille..to piddle with a little of it [money], at poor two guineas a fish. 1751 Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. 230 She was just going to call for the cards and fishes. 1766 Anstey Bath Guide viii. 90 Industrious Creatures! that make it a Rule To secure half the Fish, while they manage the Pool. 1816 Sporting Mag. XLVII. 297 A notorious gamester..at a game of loo, accumulated a large quantity of fish. 1825 Hone Everyday Bk. I. 91 Mother-o'-pearl fish and counters. 1878 H. H. Gibbs Ombre 9 A penny a fish will be found sufficiently high play. |
▪ IV. fish, n.4 (
fɪʃ)
[f. fish v.; the senses are unconnected.] 1. An act of fishing.
colloq.| 1880 Scribner's Mag. XX. 542/2, I will go find Tim..and have a fish. |
2. a. The purchase used in ‘fishing’ or raising the flukes of an anchor to the gunwale.
b. (See
quot. 1892.)
| 1825 H. B. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 51 The tricing Fish the careful Gunners hook, No time is lost, it firmly grasps the Fluke. 1892 Northumb. Gloss., Fish, a tool used for bringing up a bore rod or pump valve. |
3. attrib. and
Comb. The
n. in sense 2, or the
vb.-stem, occurs in various technical terms (chiefly
Naut.):
fish-back, a rope attached to the hook of the fish-block, and used to assist in ‘fishing’ the anchor;
fish-block, the block of a fish-tackle;
fish-davit, a davit for fishing the anchor;
fish-fall, the tackle depending from the fish-davit;
fish-head,
-martingale,
-pendant (see
quots.);
† fish-rope = fish-fall;
fish-tackle, that used for fishing the anchor;
fish wire, a stiff wire,
usu. looped at the end, used for pulling or ‘fishing’ wires through conduits, etc.; also
fish tape. Also
fish-hook 2.
| 1862 Nares Seamanship 74 *Fish-back, from the fore⁓castle, and secured to the back of the fish hook. |
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ii. 10 The Dauid is a short peece of timber, at the end whereof..they hang a blocke in a strap called the *Fish-block, by which they hale up the flook of the Anchor to the Ships bow. |
| 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxi. 120 The..*fish-davit [was] rigged out. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 93 Iron..fish davits are now fitted to nearly all ships. |
| 1862 Ibid. 74 It [the fish martingale] keeps the davit from topping up as the *fish fall is hauled taut. |
| 1842 Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. II. 171 The *‘fish-head’ for drawing a ‘drowned clack.’ 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal Mining 109 Fish-head, an apparatus for withdrawing the clacks of pumps through the column. |
| 1862 Nares Seamanship 74 *Fish martingale, a large jigger, the double block secured to one of the bolts in the davit head, the single block hooked down to a bolt in the ship's side. |
| 1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor, *Fish Pendant hangs at the end of the Davit. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 234 The upper end [of the fish-davit] being properly secured by a tackle from the mast-head; to which end is hung a large block, and through it a strong rope is rove, called the fish-pendant. |
| 1630 J. Taylor (Water-P.) Wks. i. 81/1 Cables, hawsers, *Fish and Cattrope..Halliers, Ropeyarns..were all of rare stuffes of great price. |
| 1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 105 *Fish-tackle. |
| 1907 W. S. Ibbetson Electr. Wiring x. 186 If the *fish wires are not put through the whole of the tubing, it is certainly better to put them at the difficult parts round bends, etc. 1958 Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 3) 1820/2 A fish tape or wire, a tempered steel wire of rectangular cross-section, is pushed through the conduit until its end appears at the farther end. A draw line is then attached to it and..the line is drawn through the conduit. |
Add:
[2.] c. An object which has been accidentally left or dropped down the bore-hole of an oil-well, and is hindering further drilling.
Cf. *
fish v.
1 2 b and *
fishing vbl. n.1 1 d.
orig. U.S.| 1931 H. C. George Oil Well Completion & Operation iv. 214 Jarring frequently sets the slips so tightly against the lost tool that the teeth on the slip are partly buried in the metal of the ‘fish’. 1937 W. F. Cloud Petroleum Production x. 397 If the ‘fish’ is covered with cavings, the tool usually can be ‘washed’ into the upper end of the last pipe. 1956 Petroleum Engineer Apr. b56/1 After the fish is caught and freed, the rotary table should be locked. 1978 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 20 Mar. 195/1 After several attempts to sidetrack a fish at total depth, a decision was made to test rather continuous shows from several zones. 1987 Ibid. 30 Mar. 32/2 Cement was pumped on top of the fish before drilling resumed in the sidetracked hole. |
▪ V. fish, v.1 (
fɪʃ)
Pa. tense and
pa. pple. fished (
fɪʃt). Forms: 1
fiscian, 3
fissen,
Orm. fisskenn, 4–5
fysshe(n,
fis(s)he(n, 4–6
fisch(e,
fishe, (4
fihche,
fyschyn), 6
fyshe, 6–
fish.
[OE. fiscian = OFris. fiskia, OS. fiskôn (Du. visschen), OHG. fiskôn (MHG. vischen, mod.Ger. fischen), ON. fiska (usually fiskja of differing conjugation; Sw. fiska, Da. fiske), Goth. fiskôn:—OTeut. *fiskôjan, f. *fisko-z fish n.1] I. intr. 1. a. To catch or try to catch fish; to use nets or other apparatus for taking fish. Const.
† after,
for.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §3 Ðonne ᵹe fiscian willaþ. c 1200 Ormin 13297 To fisskenn affterr fisskess. a 1300 K. Horn 1136 Ihc am a fissere, Wel feor icome bi este For fissen at þi feste. c 1305 St. Andrew 3 in E.E. Poems (1862) 98 As hi fischede aday Bi þe se oure louerd com. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 7 Pipen he coude, and fisshe, and nettes bete. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 163/1 Fyschyn, piscor. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1562) D j b, He hath well fysht and caught a frog. 1674 tr. Scheffer's Lapland 107 Their way of fishing alters with the season. 1727 Swift Gulliver iii. i. 181, I beheld some people fishing with long angling rods. 1848 Life Normandy (1863) I. 283 They fish for them very much in the same manner. |
b. fig. (with reference to Mark i. 17).
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. xiv. 80 These tonges were taken them as for theyr pryncipal Instrument for to fysshen with. 1552 Latimer Serm. vii. (1562) 125 b, Their special callyng is to fishe, to preache the worde of God. |
c. to fish in troubled waters:
fig. to take advantage of disturbance or trouble to gain one's end.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 102 Their perswasions whiche alwayes desyre your unquietnesse, whereby they may the better fishe in the water when it is troubled. 1625 Bp. R. Montagu App. Cæsar. v. 43 They..fare full and fatt by Fishing in troubled waters. 1722 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. iv. 276 You delight to fish in troubled waters. 1797 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) Though drunk as fish our rulers be, The thing sure little matters; Only it forces you and me To fish in troubled waters. |
2. To search by dredging, diving, or other means
for something that is in or under water,
e.g. sunken treasure, pearls, coral, etc.
| 1655 F. W. in W. Fulke's Meteors 166 Gold..found in Waters and Rivers is fished for, and is in form of little Grains. 1690 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) II. 129 The..grant for fishing for silver at a wreck in the West Indies. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. vi. 134 A very rich Ship..lies to this day; none having attempted to fish for her. |
3. a. To use artifice to obtain a thing, elicit an opinion, etc. Const.
after,
for. Phr.
to fish for a compliment; also
absol.| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 239 They both did come but to fish for some things which might make a shew that my L. Chancellor had justly kept him in prison. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 108 Crosse thee seas: fish for a Kingdoom. 1638 Penit. Conf. vii. (1657) 190 To fish..after secrets. 1752 Fielding Amelia viii. x, The Half Guinea, for which he had been fishing. 1803 Lett. Miss Riversdale I. 264, I feared he would think I was fishing for a compliment. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iii. xxiii, At the game of commerce losing your life in fishing for aces. 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park II. xi. 252, I am not fishing; don't compliment me. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair iv, The first woman who fishes for him, hooks him. 1886 Mallock Old Order Changes II. 217, I should have fished for you to ask me. 1961 W. Buchan Helen All Alone 183 ‘Don't fish!’ Helen said childishly... ‘But please—what is {oqq}fish{cqq}?’..‘Fish for compliments—make people say nice things about you.’ |
b. to fish for oneself: to get all one can; to seek one's own profit exclusively; to rely on one's own efforts.
| 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. iii. (1739) 8 This raised the price of the Clergy, and taught them the way to fish for themselves. 1653 Baxter Chr. Concord 117 Such men fish most for themselves. 1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle L. ii. 48 He leaves you to fish for yourself among his miscellaneous stores. 1892 Northumb. Gloss., ‘Aa'll gan an fish for mesel.’ |
c. Harvard College Slang (see
quot. 1851):
absol. to curry favour, strive to ingratiate oneself with another.
| 1774 T. Hutchinson Diary 10 Oct. I. 261 He courts me a good deal, and fishes. I fish in return; and I think neither of us meets with much luck. 1851 B. H. Hall College Words and Cust., Fish. At Harvard College, to seek or gain the good-will of an instructor by flattery,..or officious civilities; to curry favor..Students speak of fishing for parts, appointments, ranks, marks, &c. |
II. trans. 4. a. To catch or try to catch (fish); to take as fish are taken; to collect (corals, pearls) from the bottom of the sea.
| 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. vii. 118 b, The Misidan Sea..whereas are fished great quantitie of Pearles. 1611 Bible Jer. xvi. 16, I will send for many fishers..and they shal fish them. 1667 H. Oldenburg in Phil. Trans. II. 432 Red Coral..is fished from the beginning of April till the end of July. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth, Thou hast fished salmon a thousand times. 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 233 There is a period every year during which the oyster is not fished. |
| transf. and fig. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 777 To fisshen hire, he layde out hook and lyne. c 1400 Rom. Rose 7494 To fisshen sinful men we go. |
b. To use as a bait in fishing.
| 1922 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Apr. 273/3 Fishing the floating fly with a very fine cast. 1927 Observer 24 July 26/3 Mackerel skin, on a single hook, cast and fished like a fly. |
5. transf. a. To draw or pull
out of water, mud, etc.; to discover and bring
out of a heap of lumber, a deep place, or the like. Also with
out,
up.
| 1632 J. Lee Short Survey 21 The inhabitants fish out of the bottomes of their lakes a certaine rude matter. 1653 D. Osborne Let. 22 Jan. (1903) 36 Where have you fished him out, for I think he is..little known in the world. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4304/1, 29 Brass Guns, lately fished up. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. I. 224 We..fished up some small Fir-trees, which we had converted into Masts. 1778 Foote Trip Calais i. Wks. 1799 II. 343 My wife fished out a large piece of blue apron upon the top of her fork. 1822 Byron Werner ii. i. 29 He..help'd to fish the baron from the Oder. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 219 He was fished by his disciples out of the mud. 1880 J. Lomas Alkali Trade 200 The crystals..are drawn out..or ‘fished’, and allowed to drain. 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat 64 We had to..fish them out of the bag. 1953 H. Miller Plexus (1963) vi. 212, I fished out the money..and handed it to Sadie's brother. |
| fig. 1652 J. Wright tr. Camus' Nature's Paradox 10 Sometimes he fished wealth at Court, sometimes in his Government. 1886 Edin. Rev. CLXIII. 177 [A service] either fished up from some ancient ‘use’, or invented afresh, like some of the fancy litanies we have heard of. 1889 Spectator 23 Nov. 712/2 Out of the vast reservoir of facts..something might be fished up..of interest. |
b. Naut. to fish the anchor: to draw up the flukes to the gunwale.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), To fish the Anchor, to draw up the flukes upon the ship's side after it is catted. 1890 W. C. Russell Ocean Trag. I. iii. 57 They..were fishing the anchor forwards. |
| absol. 1893 R. Kipling Many Invent. 364 (Envoy), Stop, seize and fish, and easy on the davit-guy. |
c. Coal-mining. (See
quot.)
| 1888 Greenwell Gloss. Coal-trade Terms (ed. 3) 38 Fish, to catch up a drowned clack by means of a fish-head. |
d. To pull (a wire) through a conduit or between floors or walls by means of a stiff looped wire or other device pushed in from the nearer end.
| 1896 R. Robb Electr. Wiring v. 118 Wires are said to be ‘fished’ when they are started in at one end of a concealed space and then, so that they may be pulled through, are felt for, or ‘fished’ for, from the other end, with a hooked wire or other contrivance. Ibid., Wire in a flexible conduit may be fished just as the wire alone would be fished. 1914 H. Pender Amer. Handbk. Electr. Engineers 1957 Flexible conduit possesses the advantage over rigid conduit in that it..may be fished between partitions or floors. 1930 Moyer & Wostrel Indust. Electr. & Wiring vi. 151 In small houses..the boards can be taken up through the doorways, and the wires fished to the ceiling outlets and switches. |
6. a. To try to catch fish in (a pool, stream, etc.). (
Cf. similar use of
shoot, etc.)
to fish out: to exhaust the fish from.
| c 1440 Lydg. Secrees 579 Lyk hym that..fyssheth a bareyn pool. 1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 2 §1 Vnreasonable persones..haue..fished the said pondes..as well by night as by daie. 1676 Cotton Angler vi. 47 Do but Fish this stream like an Artist. 1772 Poetry in Ann. Reg. 224 She fish'd the brook. 1838 James Robber ii, You are quite welcome to fish the stream. 1866 Daily Tel. 5 Jan. 5/1 Rye Bay..is more fished perhaps than any piece of sea bottom in the world. 1892 Daily News 12 Apr. 2/1 Whether the Thames is over-fished, or, as the very gloomy prophets say, fished out. |
b. transf. To search through (a receptacle, region, etc.)
for (something material or immaterial).
| 1727 Swift & Pope Pref. to Miscel., Some have fished the very jakes for papers left there by men of wit. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 80 Oft, as he fish'd her nether realms for wit, The goddess favour'd him. 1865 Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. iv. 260 Nowhere else are the various sciences so fished for generalizations. |
7. Chiefly with
out: To get by artifice or patient effort; to ascertain, elicit (a fact or opinion). Const.
from,
out of.
Cf. L.
expiscari.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1113 (1162) He that nedis most a cause out fisch. 1531 Instr in Elyot Gov. (1883) Life 72 To fish out..what opinion the Emperor is of us. 1541 St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 663 We maye fyshe out of them, whither they were procured or sent hither by any maner of meanes. 1590 Greenwood Collect. Sclaund. Art. B b, They..haue..commaunded certaine theire priests..to fish farther cause of accusation. 1663 Pepys Diary 7 Sept., I could not fish from him..what was the matter. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. xxiii. 271 Hoping by this means to have fished out money either of the king or him. 1713 Addison Guardian No. 71 ¶4 An admirable knack of fishing out the secrets of his customers. 1770 in Doran Mann & Manners (1876) II. ix. 211 To desire a Lady to fish out of me whether I actually intended to go or not. 1866 Mrs. H. Wood St. Martin's Eve xxxii. (1874) 412 She was trying to fish out..what real business he..had at Hatherton. |
III. 8. [A new formation on the
n.]
trans. To dress (land) with fish-refuse as a fertilizer.
U.S.| 1651 R. Child in Hartlib's Leg. (1655) 36 In the North parts of New-England, where the fisher men live, they usually fish their Ground with Cods-heads. 1894 E. Eggleston in Cent. Mag. Apr. 851/2 In New England the peculiar mode of fertilizing learned from the Indians introduced a new verb; the first comers ‘fished’ their corn ground. |
9. intr. Of water: to provide (good or bad) sport for anglers.
| 1898 Daily News 4 Oct. 9/3 The Arun continues to fish badly. 1904 Daily Chron. 13 Jan. 5/2 It is a loch that fishes best in the early part of the year. 1910 Westm. Gaz. 26 Feb. 16/4 The Avon was fishing well for roach. |
Add:
[I.] [2.] b. To attempt to clear the bore-hole of an oil well of extraneous obstacles; to use a fishing-tool to seek
for objects left or dropped in a bore-hole.
Cf. sense 5 c below and *
fishing vbl. n.1 1 d.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1917 Dialect Notes IV. 341 Fish.., to try to recover lost tools in a well. 1921 W. H. Jeffrey Deep Well Drilling iv. 158 That the driller may be prepared..to fish for lost tools it is essential that he know the exact dimensions of all his tools. 1937 W. F. Cloud Petroleum Production x. 396 Horn sockets are not used frequently when fishing for tubing except in those cases where the tubing to be fished is not very long or heavy. 1974 Scotsman 22 Apr. (Oil Register Suppl.) p. ix/8 When they go ‘fishing’, they will be trying to hook a piece of broken equipment lost in the well hole. |
[II.] [4.] b. (Earlier and later examples.)
| 1877 Fishing Gaz. 28 Dec. 6/2, I find it well to fish a cast of four or five flies in a river free from many rocks or overgrowing trees. 1962 L. Wedlick Fishing in Austral. (1966) iv. 192 The only successful method is to fish a strip of garfish below a small cork float. |
c. To make use of (equipment, a small boat, etc.) for fishing.
| 1913 F. M. Halford Dry-Fly Man's Handbk. i. 18 This shows clearly that the ‘Halford’ rod..is the easier rod to fish. 1970 I. Petite Meander to Alaska v. 43 The younger boy and I own a fishing boat together; he fishes it; I run this place. 1983 Angling Times 3 Aug. 16 When fishing flowing water it is usual to fish a float fixed to the line ‘top and bottom’, or ‘double rubber’ as some anglers call it. |
[III.] 10. trans. To take part in (a fishing competition).
| 1887 Fishing Gaz. 30 July 61/2 Good Intent Angling Society. The members will fish a peg-down match at Waltham, on August 7th. 1950 Britannica Bk. of Year 46/1 The All-England championship, fished at Potter Heigham, Norfolk, produced unexpectedly poor results. 1983 Angling Times 28 Sept. 3/3 The world team fished a match against a team from Porthcawl. |
▪ VI. fish, v.2 (
fɪʃ)
[f. fish n.2] 1. trans. To fasten a piece of wood, technically called a fish, upon (a beam, mast, yard, etc.) so as to strengthen it; to mend (a broken spar, etc.) with a fish or fishes. Also
to fish together.
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 3 Ready for..fishing or spliceing the Masts or Yards. Ibid. 13 A Jurymast..is made with yards, rouftrees, or what they can..fished together. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. i. 295 We were obliged to fish our fore-mast. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 120 Sometimes the pieces that are applied on the sides are made of wood; in this case, it is called fishing the beam. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxv. 83 All hands were now employed..fishing the spritsail yard. 1875 R. F. Martin tr. Havrez' Winding Mach. 5 Fishing the rods with the wooden fishes. |
b. To fasten (a piece of wood)
on.
| 1711 S. Sewall Diary 10 Sept. (1879) II. 322 Our Axel⁓tree..broke quite off..Fish'd on a piece in the morning. |
2. To join (the rails) with a fish-joint.
| 1850 C. H. Gregory in Proc. Inst. Civ. Engin. IX. 405 ‘Fishing’ the joints of the rails with two pieces of cast or wrought iron secured by bolts or rivets. 1866 W. H. Barlow ibid. XXV. 409 It would not do..to fish old rails. |