fish English · revision 2840

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 750|origins=ine-pro *peisk-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɪʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|fish]], fiss,^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|fisc]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*fiskaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) related to Old Saxon and Old High German fisc, Old Norse fiskr, Dutch vis, German Fisch and Gothic fisks.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Outside Germanic it is cognate with [[la|piscis]] and [[sga|íasc|alt=īasc]], with the Celtic loss of p,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*peisk-]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) though Boutkan, cited by Etymonline, thinks it may be a northwestern European substrate word.^(Etymonline) The verb is [[m|ang|fiscian]], from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English, about 750 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) with the OED's first example from about 825;^(OED 1989) the verb fiscian is from before 899.^(Barnhart 1988) Since Old English it has been used for any animal that lives entirely in water,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as against the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The broad sense survives in ''shellfish'' and ''starfish''.^(Etymonline) The constellation Pisces was called the Fishes from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) A ''fish out of water'' is old: the idea is in Chaucer,^(Cresswell 2021) the phrase “a fisshe out of the see” is from the mid-15th century, and the modern form by the 1610s.^(Etymonline) ''A pretty kettle of fish'', an awkward state of affairs, is from 1523 in the OED.^(OED 1989) ''Other fish to fry'' is from the 1650s^(Etymonline) and ''drink like a fish'' from 1744.^(Etymonline) ''Fish'' for a person is from 1722, first of one worth catching, then with a dismissive sense from 1750.^(Etymonline) The verb in its figurative sense, “to seek by indirect means”, follows the gospel “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17) from 1413,^(OED 1989) and ''fish in troubled waters'' is from 1568.^(OED 1989) In US slang fish was a dollar from 1920.^(OED 1989) The spelling ''phishing'' for internet fraud dates from 1992.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 750 – Old English fisc.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 899 – verb, to catch fish.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – the constellation Pisces.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1413 – verb, figurative.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1523 – ''a kettle of fish''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1568 – ''fish in troubled waters''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1650s – ''other fish to fry''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1722 – a person, as one to be caught.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1744 – ''drink like a fish''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1920 – a dollar (US slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1992 – ''phishing''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cold-blooded water [[vertebrate]] with [[fin|alt=fins]] and [[gill|alt=gills]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Loosely, any water animal, as in ''shellfish'' or ''jellyfish''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ # The flesh of fish as food.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' A person of a particular kind: ''a cold fish''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''the Fishes'': the constellation and zodiac sign [[Pisces]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To catch or try to catch fish.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To search by groping: ''fished in her bag for the keys''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To seek something by indirect means: ''fishing for compliments''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fishless]]

+ * [[fishlike]]

+ * [[fishability]]

+ * [[fishable]]

+ * [[fisher]]

+ * [[fishery]]

+ * [[fishline]]

+ * [[fishnet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[piscine]]

+ * [[fishy]]

+ * [[Pisces]]

+ * [[pisci-]]

+ * [[piscivore]]

+ * [[piscatology]]

+ * [[pisciform]]

+ * [[fishmonger]]

+ * [[bony fish]]

+ * [[cartilaginous fish]]

+ * [[finfish]]

+ * [[ichthyology]]

+ * [[porpoise]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is usually ''fish'',^(AHD) ''fishes'' is used for different kinds of fish.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) A separate noun ''fish'', a strengthening piece of wood or iron on a spar or rail (whence ''fishplate''), comes from French fiche, from ficher “to fix”;^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and a flat bone counter used in games, from 1728, is from French fiche too.^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}