bowfin

American  

[boh-fin] / ˈboʊˌfɪn /

noun

1. a carnivorous ganoid fish, Amia calva, found in sluggish fresh waters of eastern North America.

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bowfin British  

/ ˈbəʊˌfɪn /

noun

1. a primitive North American freshwater bony fish, Amia calva , with an elongated body and a very long dorsal fin: family Amiidae

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Etymology

Origin of bowfin

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; bow ² + fin ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bowfin

The researchers also sequenced the bichir, an elongated, air-breathing, ray-finned fish that lives in the shallows of tropical African rivers, as well as the American paddlefish, the bowfin, and the alligator gar.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 10, 2021

Mr. Burke managed to secure only 2,000 pounds of bowfin caviar.

From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2012

A 2.6-ounce jar of bowfin caviar usually costs $50 online from Louisiana Caviar, compared with $595 for a 1.75-ounce jar of Platinum Osetra at Caviar Russe, the New York restaurant, store and importer.

From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2012

Mr. Taksir said he was “skeptical in the beginning,” when he discovered bowfin caviar at a seafood show in Boston three years ago.

From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2012

A genus of freshÐwater ganoid fishes, exclusively confined to North America; called bowfin in Lake Champlain, dogfish in Lake Erie, and mudfish in South Carolina, etc.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster