† dog-fishern.
Obsolete. rare.
Walton's name for: an otter, Lutra lutra.Defined erroneously by Johnson as ‘A kind of fish’, a definition repeated in subsequent dictionaries.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Lutra (otter)
ottereOE
badger1591
river-dog1610
water weasel1611
dog-fisher1655
water dog1655
river otter1780
land otter1844
water wolf1907
1655 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) ii. 67 The Otter..devours much fish..And I can tell you, that this Dog-fisher (for so the Latins call him) can smell a fish in the water a hundred yards from him..and that his stones are good against the Falling-sickness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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n.1655