▪ I. salmon, n.1 and a.
(ˈsæmən)
Forms: 4–5 samoun, -own(e, (5 samoon, samwn, sawmon, sawmun), 4–6 samon, 7 sammon, 8 Sc. sawmont, 9 Sc. saumon; 4 salmoun, 4–7 Sc. salmond(e, 5 salmone, (6 saulmon, salmont, 7 sallmon), 4– salmon.
[a. AF. samoun, saumoun, salmun (OF. and mod.F. saumon):—L. salmōn-em, salmo (Pliny); the spelling with l is from the Latin form.
Cf. Pr. salmo, Sp. salmon, Pg. salmão, It. salmone, sermone. The Latin word is prob. a derivative of the root of salīre to leap.]
A. n.
1. a. A large fish belonging to the genus Salmo, family Salmonidæ, esp. Salmo salar, comprising the largest fish of this family, which when mature are characterized by having red flesh, and a silvery skin marked with large black and red spots; highly prized as an article of food.
In mod. use the collective sing. takes the place of the pl.; salmons being used only in scientific language to denote different species, or, rarely, individual specimens.
| 13.. K. Alis. 5446 (Laud MS.) And of perches, & of salmouns, Token & eten grete foysouns. 13.. Coer de L. 3515 Fysch, flesch, salmoun, and cungyr. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 576 He wrocht Gynnys, to tak geddis & salmonys. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 407 They eteþ hote samoun alway. Ibid. II. 13 Þere is grete plente of small fische, of samon, and of elys. a 1400 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 354 Euerych cart comynge in-to towne wiþ samown. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 15365 Swettere than samoun. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 823 Sewes on fishe dayes..The baly of þe fresche samon. 1515 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 67 Of my ferme of my fyshynges in Yarom I give her ij salmons yerely. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. i. (S.T.S.) 100 Thay saw the Scottis eit rawe Salmonte, new drawen out of the flude. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 156 She that in wisedome neuer was so fraile, To change the Cods-head for the Salmons taile. 1655 Walton Angler i. vii. (1661) 134 The Salmon is accounted the King of fresh-water-Fish. 1787 Burns Tam Samson's Elegy vi, Now safe the stately Sawmont sail. 1819 Scott Let. to Dk. Buccleuch 15 Apr. in Lockhart, Where I lie, as my old grieve Tom Purdie said last night,..‘like a haulded saumon’. 1837 Dickens Pickw. viii, ‘It wasn't the wine,’ murmured Mr. Snodgrass, in a broken voice. ‘It was the salmon’. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1873) 69 Male salmons have been observed fighting all day long. 1882 Day Brit. Fishes I. Introd. 71 The so-termed land-locked salmon..might prove invaluable to upper riparian proprietors. Ibid. II. 87 The ‘blue poll’ and ‘blue cock’ of the Fowey in Cornwall,..are sold in Billingsgate as ‘Cornish salmon’. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 222/1 In North America there occurs one Salmonoid..viz., Salmo salar, var. sebago, L... This form is called variously the Landlocked Salmon or the Schoodic Salmon. Ibid. 225/1 A salmon newly arrived in fresh water from the sea is called a clean salmon, on account of its bright, well-fed appearance. |
b. Applied to fishes belonging to other genera of the same family;
esp., a fish of any of the species of the genus
Oncorhynchus, called the
Pacific salmon.
| 1884 Goode, etc. Nat. Hist. Aquatic Anim. 468 According to the latest system..the first [group] for which the name Salmo is retained includes the Atlantic Salmon, and the black-spotted species of the west [etc.]... In this same group are included the Quinnat, or California Salmon, and its allies... These have been placed in the genus Oncorhynchus. 1888 ― Amer. Fishes 480 The Pacific Salmon... The English-speaking people call it [Oncorhynchus gorbuscha] generally the ‘Hump-back Salmon’, and often the ‘Dog Salmon’... This is one of the smallest Salmons. Ibid. 482 The Blue-back is the most graceful of the Salmons. 1888 W. S. Caine Round the World viii. 122 The Pacific salmon takes no bait or fly in fresh water, but may be taken readily in salt water. |
c. Applied to fishes resembling a salmon, but not belonging to the
Salmonidæ. (
a) In
U.S., the
squeteague; also the
pike-perch (see
pike n.4 3). (
b) In Australia and New Zealand,
Arripis salar.
| 1798 D. Collins Acc. N.S. Wales I. 136 A fish, named by us, from its shape only, the salmon. 1880 Günther Fishes 393 Arripis salar, South Australia. Three species are known, from the coasts of Southern Australia and New Zealand. They are named by the colonists Salmon or Trout. 1884 Century Mag. Apr. 908/1 The pike-perch becomes a ‘salmon’ in the Susquehanna, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers. 1884 Goode, etc. Nat. Hist. Aquatic Anim. 365 [The Spotted Squeteague] is usually known on the Southern coast as the ‘Salmon’ or ‘Spotted Trout’. |
† d. Phrase.
to seek for a salmon's nest. (
Cf. mare's nest.)
Obs.| 1589 Hay any Work 30 Where hast ti bene, why man, cha bin a seeking for a Samons nest. |
2. The name of a kind of potato with red ‘flesh’.
| 1845 Morn. Chron. 22 Nov. 5/2 The salmons are considered a good potato for the chalky soil; they are what in some parts are called red kidneys. Ibid. 5/3 Salmon potatoes. |
3. Short for
salmon colour (see 4 c).
| 1873 [see paper n. 8 b]. 1892 Gard. Chron. 27 Aug. 245/1 Hollyhocks, ranging in colour from pure white through yellows to salmons, pinks [etc.]. 1892 E. Lawless Grania I. 87 The horizon was tinged with faint salmon. |
4. attrib. and
Comb. a. simple
attrib., as
salmon boat,
salmon farm,
salmon fishery,
salmon hatchery,
salmon heck (
heck n.1 2),
salmon hutch (
hutch n. 3 a),
salmon kettle (
kettle 2 a),
salmon leister,
† salmon lumber-pie,
salmon mousse,
salmon paste (
paste n. 1 d),
† salmon pie,
salmon rawn (
Sc.),
salmon river,
salmon roe,
salmon spear,
salmon stream; in names applied (chiefly locally) to a young salmon indicating the different stages of its growth, as
salmon-fry,
salmon mort (
n.3),
salmon peal (
n.2),
salmon pink,
salmon smelt,
salmon sprint; in the names of appliances used in angling for salmon, as
salmon bait,
salmon fly,
salmon gaff,
salmon line,
salmon reel,
salmon rod,
salmon tackle,
salmon winch. Also
salmon-like adj.| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 51 *Salmon baits. |
| 1894 Rudder Mar. 77 White Class—*Salmon boat, Canthelpit, Captain Jacobsen. 1905 J. London Tales of Fish Patrol 23 The salmon boat got out its oars. |
| 1868 Peard Water-farm. i. 10 The..construction of a *Salmon-farm. |
| 1732 Calendar State Papers: Colonial Ser. (Publ. Rec. Office) (1939) XXXIX. 226 The *salmon fishery is still carried on in the several rivers and to advantage. 1762 Ann. Reg. ii. 53/1 A gentleman who resides at Berwick, near the great salmon-fishery. 1888 W. S. Caine Round the World viii. 121 A fresh development of the salmon fishery has sprung up. |
| 1704–6 Dict. Rust. s.v. Fishing-fly, *Salmon Flies. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports v. ii. 246/1 Salmon-flies are made on the same principle as the trout-flies. 1927 M. Asquith Lay Sermons v. 106 The Durham Ranger and Black Dog are salmon-flies. |
| 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. ii. 341 *Salmon-fry are taken with a fine Hair-line. |
| [1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 669/3 Gaffs..Salmon and Pike.] 1922 Joyce Ulysses 558 Follow the footpeople with knotty sticks, *salmongaffs. |
| 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 224/2 note, The first important series of experiments..was made at the *salmon-hatchery of Stormontfield. |
| 1868 Law Rep. Q.B. Div. III. 289 In this side-stream..the said *salmon-hutch or hutches are situated. |
| 1773 J. S. Ep. to R. Fergusson 48 I'se tak ye up Tweed's bonny side..And shaw you there the fisher's pride, A *sa'mon kettle. |
| a 1625 Jas. I in Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. (1677) vii. 529 [A longing he had to see the place of his breeding,] a *Salmon-like instinct [so he was pleased to call it]. |
| 1850 ‘Ephemera’ Bk. Salmon 16 *Salmon-lines. 1834 *Salmon lister [see leister]. 1881 J. Grant Cameronians I. iv. 52 In the hall hung..salmon-listers, whips [etc.]. |
| 1665 R. May Accomplisht Cook (ed. 2) Index, *Salmon lumber pie. |
| 1893 J. Watson Confess. Poacher 168 There were 90 trout, 37 *salmon-mort, and 2 salmon. |
| 1936 Lucas & Hume Au Petit Cordon Bleu 43 Put a little of the aspic into a pan... Run a thin coating of this jelly on the top of the *salmon mousse. 1972 K. Stewart Times Cookery Bk. vi. 84 Salmon mousse... Allow several hours for mousse to chill. |
| [1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. p. lxvii/6 Salmon.. and Shrimp Paste.] 1939 T. S. Eliot Old Possum's Bk. Pract. Cats 45 You might now and then supply..Some potted grouse, or *salmon paste. |
| 1533–4 *Salmon peal [see peal n.2]. |
| 1661 Rabisha Cookery Dissected 127 To bake a *Salmon Pie to be eaten hot. 1747 in H. Glasse Cookery 115. |
| 1805 J. Duncumb Agric. Heref. 16 The spawn..are in some parts termed salmon-fry or *salmon-pinks. |
| 1841 T. South Fly Fisher's Handbk. ii. 13 *Salmon Reel Lines. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 51 Salmon Reels. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Salmon, The richest *salmon river in France. 1771 G. Cartwright Jrnl. 29 May (1792) I. 127 At the head of this place we found a very fine salmon river. 1886 Critic 16 Oct. 183 A map and an annotated list of salmon-rivers locate them chiefly north of the St. Lawrence. 1968 R. M. Patterson Finlay's River 88 The Yukon, a salmon river with a name nobody had ever heard of and which was not to be found on any map. |
| 1841 T. South Fly Fisher's Handbk. iii. 40 The *salmon-rod should consist of four parts. |
| 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. vi, The water being in such a rare trim for the *saumon raun, he couldna help taking a cast. |
| 1832 Ibid. note, The bait made of *salmon row salted and preserved. 1867 F. Francis Angling vii. (1880) 265 The only things I resolutely bar..are salmon-roe and wasp-grub. |
| 1700 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum (ed. 3) 110 *Salmon Smelts. 1551 *Salmon spear [see leister]. 1602 Carew Cornwall 31 An instrument somewhat like the Sammon-speare. |
| 1790 Grose Provinc. Gloss. Suppl., *Salmon-sprint, a young salmon. North. |
| 1847 T. T. Stoddart Angler's Compan. xv. 284 Let the angler take his place at the head of the cast or *salmon stream. |
| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 51 *Salmon Winches. |
b. objective, as
salmon-breeding,
salmon-fisher,
salmon-rearing,
salmon spearer,
salmon spearing; instrumental, as
salmon-haunted adj.| 1866 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 447/2 *Salmon-breeding ponds. |
| a 1670 *Salmon-fisher [see coble1 1]. a 1678 Marvell Poems, Appleton Ho., And now the salmon-fishers moist Their leathern boats begin to hoist. 1771 T. Pennant Tour in Scotl. 1769 148 Near is a cave, where the Salmon-fishers lie during the season. 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby vi. 118 He had been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior as a clam-digger and a salmon-fisher. |
| 1870 F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisf. 33 The silvery and *salmon-haunted Tweed. |
| 1884 Encycl. Brit. (1886) XXI. 226/2 *Salmon-rearing establishments. |
| 1899 Daily News 29 June 6/3 The fly-fishers and *salmon spearers. |
| 1879 Dowden Southey vi. 144 The guests went *salmon-spearing on the Tweed. |
c. Special combinations:
salmon bass S. Afr. = kabeljou;
† salmon bellows, ? the sound or air bladder of a salmon;
salmon belly (
U.S.), the belly of a salmon prepared for food by pickling;
salmon berry (
U.S.),
N. Amer., any of several species of
Rubus,
esp. the white-flowered
R. chamæmorus and
R. parviflorus or the pink-flowered western raspberry,
R. spectabilis; also
attrib.;
salmon cast (see
cast n. 5 b, c);
salmon coble, a boat used in salmon fishing;
salmon-colour (see
quots.);
salmon disease, (
a) a fatal epidemic skin disease of salmon; (
b)
= salmon poisoning below;
salmon fishing, (
a) the catching of salmon; (
b) a place where salmon may be caught; a salmon-fishery;
salmon flounder (see
quot.);
salmon gum (see
quot. 1883);
salmon killer (
U.S.), a stickleback,
Gasterosteus aculeatus, destructive to salmon fry and spawn (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
salmon ladder, a fish ladder for salmon; also,
transf. ‘a contrivance used in the chemical treatment of sewage’ (
Cent. Dict.);
salmon leap, see
leap n. 2 b;
salmon louse, ‘a parasitic crustacean,
Caligus piscinus, which adheres to the gills of salmon’ (
Cent. Dict.);
salmon pass = salmon ladder;
salmon pipe, ‘an engine to catch Salmon’ (Cowel
Interpr. 1607);
salmon pit,
pool (see
quots.);
salmon poisoning, a fatal disease of dogs on the Pacific Coast of North America which affects lymphoid tissue and the central nervous system and is caused by rickettsias present in flukes infesting ingested salmon;
salmon-scurf, a
dial. name for the salmon trout;
salmon stair = salmon ladder;
salmon steak, a fried slice of salmon;
salmon-tithe, a tithe payable in salmon;
salmon twine, linen or cotton twine used in the manufacture of salmon-nets (
Cent. Dict.);
salmon weir, a weir for the taking of salmon (
Ibid.).
| 1929 Hardy's Anglers' Guide (ed. 51) 48 The Kabeljaauw, known in Natal as *Salmon Bass..runs to as much as 150 lbs. 1957 S. Schoeman Strike! iii. 70 The very big ones are variously referred to as..salmon, salmon bass and often even Cape salmon if caught from East London to Durban. |
| c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 719 Musclade or menows, with þe *Samoun bellows. |
| 1883 Goode Fish. Industr. U.S. (Fish. Exhib. Lit. 1884 V.) 32 Pickled *salmon-belly is a favourite delicacy of the region. |
| 1844 A. Sylvester Jrnl. in Oregon Hist. Q. (1933) XXXIV. 359 A *salmon berry..being put into the mouth of a fish [sc. a salmon], destroys the charm. a 1861 Salmon-berry [see hiaqua]. 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 178 The salmon-berry..(Rubus chamaemorus). 1901 J. Grinnell Gold Hunting in Alaska 16 The other day we picked three quarts of salmon berries. 1971 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 14 Mar. 16/2 Directing their steps toward the beach..they hurried..through the salmonberry thicket. 1977 J. Gillis Killers of Starfish (1979) xxii. 217 A precipitous tangle of salmonberry and alder. |
| 1875 W. M{supc}Ilwraith Guide Wigtownshire 20 In the vicinity of Penninghame House are some excellent *salmon-casts. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 51 Salmon Casts, plaited gut [etc.]. |
| 1787 Burns Auld Farmer's Salut. Mare vii, Tho' now ye dow but hoyte and hoble, An' wintle like a *saumont-coble. 1881 W. Gregor Notes Folk-lore N.-E. Scotl. 146 In going past a salmon cobble in the harbour, a fisherman would not have allowed his boat to touch it. 1973 W. Elmer Terminol. Fishing iii. 78 The salmon coble..differs in structure from the rest of the cobles. |
| 1813 J. Constable Let. 30 June (1964) II. 109 The paper will be a sort of *salmon color and the sofa & chairs crimson. 1842 D. R. Hay Nomencl. Colours (1846) 42 Salmon colour is the name usually given to such tints as those produced by the attenuation of orange. 1860 Worcester, Salmon-color, a golden-orange tinge. |
| 1880 Proc. R. Soc. Edin. X. 242, I am led to believe that the so-called *salmon disease does not depend upon a pre-diseased condition of the fish. 1950 Amer. Jrnl. Path. XXVI. 617 (heading) The pathology and etiology of salmon disease in the dog and fox. 1964 G. W. Stamm Dog Owner's Vet. Guide 79 Salmon disease has been successfully treated with certain sulfa drugs and with penicillin. 1971 D. Mills Salmon & Trout iii. 91 The salmon is subject to a number of diseases... The diseases include furunculosis, Dee disease, kidney disease, salmon disease,..and columnaris. |
| 1588 Rot. Scacc. Reg. Scot. XXI. 336 The fewmaill of the *salmound fisching upoun the water of Connan. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. 67 The like of a Salmon fishing, wherin the Lord lost two parts in three. 1808 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. V. 153 A salmon-fishing of some value. 1833 J. Rennie Alph. Angling 45 The finest salmon-fishing is in mild weather. |
| 1815 J. Arbuthnot Hist. Acc. Peterhead 18 (Jam.) Pleuronectes Flessus, Flounder, vulgarly called Fresh-water Fleuk, *Salmon Flounder. |
| [1883 F. von Mueller Eucalyptographia ix, Eucalyptus salmonophloia... A tree, when aged, attaining to fully 100 feet in height, known vernacularly as the ‘Salmon-colored Gumtree’, in allusion to the smooth grey and somewhat purplish bark of an oily lustre.] 1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 24 Oct. 20/3 A Digger mate and myself saw three *salmon gums, trees of the Westralian wheatbelt and eastern goldfields. 1969 Chippendale & Johnston Eucalypts 72/1 The salmon gum has been regarded as an indicator of good, loamy soil on which much of the West Australian wheatbelt is developed. |
| 1867 Lond. Rev. 22 June 696/1 One great obstacle to the erection of *Salmon-ladders. |
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 369 Also in Irlond beeþ þre *samoun lepes. c 1730 Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) I. 236 The Salmon leap (which is a steep slope composed of large loose stones). 1867–99 *Salmon-pass [see pass n.1 3 h]. |
| 1533 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 7 No maner of persone..shall..take..in fludgate, *salmon pipe or at the tayle of any mylle or were..the yonge frye..of..Salmon. |
| 1787 Surv. Kirton-in Lindsey in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (1877), There are particular places in the river (Trent) to which the Salmon resort that are called *Salmon Pits. |
| 1925 Jrnl. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc. LXVI. 638 A microscopic cyst has been found in the muscle of ‘sore-back’ salmon. When these fish were fed to dogs typical symptoms of so-called *salmon poisoning were produced. 1974 T. McGinnis Well Dog Bk. 74 This fluke is host to an organism (a rickettsia) which causes a severe disease called salmon poisoning. |
| 1866 Mass. Rep. 32 (Cent. Dict. s.v. Pool1) *Salmon-pools, eddies where the salmon collect. 1874 W. P. Lennox My Recoll. II. 72 My guide then informing me that within three miles there were several salmon pools, I lost no time in proceeding there. 1892 Salmon pool [see easy B. 4 b]. |
| 1846 Brockett N.C. Wds. (ed. 3), Scurf, or *Salmon-scurf, salmon trout. Tees, Wear, &c. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Salmon-stair. |
| 1902 Buchan Watcher by Threshold 6, I had breakfasted..on eggs and *salmon-steaks. |
| 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxx, He hath had frequent disputes with them about the *salmon-tithe. |
B. adj. [The
n. used
attrib.:
cf. A. 3.] Of the colour of the flesh of salmon; a kind of orange-pink. Also
Comb., as
salmon-pink,
salmon-red,
salmon-rose.
| 1786 Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 234 Radishes..both of the common short top and salmon kinds. [Cf. quot. 1824 s.v. salmon-coloured.] 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. xi, A..room painted white and salmon. 1882 Garden 1 Apr. 223/2 Large blossoms..of a beautiful, deep, salmon-pink colour. Ibid. 29 Apr. 299/3 Carnations..Conqueror, salmon-rose. 1884 Salmon-pink [see crevette]. 1885 Black White Heather iii, Just over them was a line of gleaming salmon-red. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 558 The patches in such parts may then assume a salmon tinge. Ibid. 573 The colour of the base has more of a salmon hue when fresh. 1901 J. Black's Illustr. Carp. & Build., Home Handicr. 38 A good salmon tint is produced by adding to the dissolved whiting a little of the same [venetian] red. 1979 Country Life 24 May 1618/3 The salmon-pink of dawn. |
▪ II. † ˈsalmon, n.2 Cant.
Obs. Also 6–8
salomon, 7
saloman, 8–9
salamon, 8
solomon.
[Of obscure origin: cf. Sam n.1] In oaths or asseverations, as
by (the) salmon,
so help me salmon.
Harman's interpretation (
quot. 1567) may be correct; it is doubtful whether any of the subsequent writers quoted really knew the word in actual use.
| a 1550 Copland Hye Way to Spyttel Hous 1050 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 69 Cyarum by salmon and thou shalt pek my jere. 1567 Harman Caveat 83 Salomon, a alter or masse. 1611 Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle v. i. K 4 My doxy I haue, by the Salomon a doxy, that carries a kitchin mort in her slat at her backe. 1641 Brome Jov. Crew ii. (1659) F 4 b, By Salmon, I think my Mort is in drink. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Salmon, c. the Beggers Sacrament or Oath. Solomon, c. the Mass. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxxiv, She swore by the salmon. 1834 H. Ainsworth Rookwood iii. v, You must repeat the ‘Salamon’, or oath of our creed. Ibid., So may help me, Salamon! |
▪ III. salmon variant of
sammen dial.