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catfish

Pronunciation: /ˈkætfɪʃ/

The English word “catfish” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
  2. The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe.
  3. Someone who creates a false profile on a social media platform in order to deceive people.
  4. Such a false profile.

verb

  1. To fish for catfish.
  2. To create and operate a fake online profile to deceive (someone).

Etymology

From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. Compare West Frisian katfisk (“catfish”), Dutch katvis (“catfish”). Compare also German Seekatze (“catfish”, literally “sea-cat”).

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