walking fishn.
/ˌwɔːkɪŋ ˈfɪʃ/, /ˈwɔːkɪŋ ˌfɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈwɔkɪŋ ˌfɪʃ/, /ˌwɔkɪŋ ˈfɪʃ/, /ˈwɑkɪŋ ˌfɪʃ/, /ˌwɑkɪŋ ˈfɪʃ/ 1. Any of various fishes capable of propelling themselves for short distances on land, including mudskippers (family Gobiidae) and snakeheads (family Channidae). Cf. walking catfish n. at walking adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Lophiiformes (anglers) > [noun] > member of genus Antennarius
toad-fish1612
mousefish1818
walking fish1840
frogfish1931
frog1985
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > [noun] > member of order Ophiocephaliformes
walking fish1885
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Siluriformes (catfish) > [noun] > member of family Callichthyidae
hassar1828
hardback1841
walking fish1885
1840 S. G. Goodrich Pict. Geogr. World 44 In the West Indies, there is a kind of walking fish, which takes to the land, and throws itself along by jerks, in this way traveling considerable distances.
1885 E. Balfour Cycl. India (ed. 3) III. 1041 Walking Fishes of India are species of Ophiocephalidæ. The hissar, or walking fish of S. America, is a species of Callichthys.
1908 E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber ii. ii. 293 The big-eyed walking fish of the mangroves, which the learned have named Periophthalmus koelreuteri.
1935 Jrnl. Paleontol. 9 55/1 Modern ‘walking fish’ use the pectoral fins as organs of propulsion over the land, but Paramphibius had advanced beyond such a stage.
1989 S. J. Gould Wonderful Life (1991) 317 The few modern fishes that scurry across mud flats, including Periophthalmus, the ‘walking fish’, pull their bodies along and do not stride with their fins.
2. English regional (Lincolnshire). = silver-fish n. 2. Now rare.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Apterygota or Ametabola > [noun] > order Collembola > member of
springtail1781
skip-tail1839
silver-fish1855
collembolan1873
walking fish1877
shiner1914
collem1924
silver lady-
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. 266/2 Walking-fish, a small silvery insect.
1889 Notes & Queries 28 Dec. 513/1 ‘Silver fish’ are known in Lincolnshire as ‘walking fish’, and are said to destroy woodwork and woollen clothes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1840