wirrahn.
/ˈwɪrə/, U.S. /ˈwɪrə/, Australian English /ˈwɪrə/ Australian.
Any of several Australian inshore fishes of the serranid genus Acanthistius, esp. A. serratus of western Australia and A. ocellatus of eastern Australia, both of which are greenish brown with blue spots.
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the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Serranidae (sea-bass) > [noun] > acanthistius serratus (wirrah)
wirrah1880
1880 Proc. Linn. Soc. New S. Wales 5 324 Plectropoma ocellatum…This is the ‘Wirrah’ of the aborigines, a common fish, but valueless for food.
1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales 34 ‘Wirrah’ or Plectropoma is a genus similar to that of Serranus, but armed with a row of spinous teeth on the lower jaw..besides the pair of canines above.
1933 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Jan. 21 We had caught a number of more genteel fish, so we heaved the common wirrahs and leather-jackets overboard.
1978 J. M. Thomson Field Guide Sea & Estuary Fishes Non-tropical Austral. 100 Except for the Wirrah most of the rock cods are regarded as good eating.
1985 R. G. Barrett You wouldn't be Dead for Quids (1986) 217 ‘A what?’ ‘A wirra. They're no good. You can't even use 'em for bait.’
1989 Sydney Morning Herald 9 Feb. 23 Wirrahs are caught from the shallow around Sydney and must often seem to be a prize table fish to those who don't know that they were nicknamed ‘boot’ by our ancestors.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1880