Pisces

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin Piscēs, a specific use of the plural of piscis (“fish”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun comes from the same Indo-European base as fish,^[2][4] written Proto-Indo-European *pisk- (“a fish”) by Etymonline,^[3] and Klein compares Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (fisks), Old High German fisc and Old English fisc.^[4] The sense for the class of fishes is from scientific Latin, itself from the classical word.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The constellation and the twelfth sign of the zodiac: in Old English, in Ælfric's De Temporibus Anni,^[2][5] late Old English in Etymonline,^[3] and before the 12th century in Merriam-Webster.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The figure represents two fishes united by a cord tied to their tails.^[3][2] The use of the Latin genitive Piscium after the names of stars began in post-classical Latin.^[2][7] From 1805 scientific writers used the word for a large class of vertebrates, the fishes.^[2][6] Astrologers applied it to people born under the sign by 1924, according to Etymonline, when the OED also records the adjective,^[3][2] and the OED's first example of the noun is from V. Packer's Don't Rely on Gemini in 1969.^[2]

Timeline

• 1805 – the class of fishes, in zoology.^[2]
• 1924 – adjective, born under the sign; applied to persons.^[2][3]
• 1969 – a person born under the sign, as a noun.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. In astrology, the twelfth sign of the zodiac, the Fishes, associated with the period from about 19 February to 20 March.^[5][7][6]
2. A person born under this sign.^[6][7][2]
3. A faint constellation between Aquarius and Aries, pictured as two fishes joined by a cord.^[7][3][2]
4. In some classifications, a class of vertebrates comprising the fishes.^[2][6]

Word family

• Piscean

Related words

• fish
• piscine
• porpoise
• Aquarius
• Aries

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins