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anadromous

[uh-nad-ruh-muh s]
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adjective
  1. (of fish) migrating from salt water to spawn in fresh water, as salmon of the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus (distinguished from catadromous).

Origin of anadromous

First recorded in 1745–55, anadromous is from the Greek word anádromos running upward. See ana-, -drome, -ous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for anadromous

Historical Examples

  • They are anadromous fishes of which little more can be said than that a specimen might take a bottom bait once in a way.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1

    Various

  • The migratory fishes fall into two groups, the anadromous and the catadtomous.

    Boy Scouts Handbook

    Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for anadromous

anadromous

adjective
  1. (of fishes such as the salmon) migrating up rivers from the sea in order to breedCompare catadromous

Word Origin

C18: from Greek anadromos running upwards, from ana- + dromos a running
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anadromous

adj.

of fish, "ascending a river to spawn" (as salmon do), 1753, from Latinized form of Greek anadromos "running upward," from ana "up, back" (see ana-) + dramein "to run" (see dromedary).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
anadromous in Science

anadromous

[ə-năd′rə-məs]
  1. Relating to fish, such as salmon or shad, that migrate up rivers from the sea to breed in fresh water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.